The air burned.
Every version of Ethan stood still across the shattered reflections—one cloaked in royal flame, another in shadowed chains, a third unmarked and resolute.
Time trembled.
[SYSTEM DECISION ACKNOWLEDGED][Path Selected: Bind the Reflection][Warning: High Risk. Potential for Dual-Conscious Integration. Success Rate: 18%.][Proceeding…]
Ethan reached forward—not to strike Kaelen, but to grasp him. His hand passed through mirror-light, through distortion and fury.
Kaelen's expression faltered. "You can't—!"
"I can," Ethan said. "I won't be you. But I won't run from you either."
"I will be both. I will be better."
The moment Ethan's hand connected with the reflection, the universe convulsed.
System SurgeThe System screamed as data flooded in. Memories—some Ethan's, some Kaelen's—rushed through him.
The first failure at the Ghostwake.The first time Kaelen sat on the throne.The faces of those lost.The face of the first Unnamed—the one who granted Kaelen the path Ethan now walked.
[SYSTEM UPDATE: Dual-Conscious Integration Stabilized at 42%][New Title Acquired: The Bound][Passive Trait Gained: Soul-Tethered Memory – Access Key Fragments Across Echo Timelines]
Kaelen fell to his knees, light unraveling around him. "You're not strong enough to hold it…"
Ethan knelt too, but he didn't fall. "I don't have to hold it alone."
He reached inward—and the voice answered.
"Then let us become what was denied."
A surge of light exploded from Ethan's core, spreading outward like a nova. The Refraction Zone shattered, and the Wraithling's systems screamed back to life.
Back on the Wraithling
The ship snapped out of spatial flux, systems stabilizing one after another. Aelira gasped as Ethan collapsed into the captain's chair, covered in cold sweat, his eyes glowing faintly with twin colors—one blue, one violet.
[SYSTEM STABILIZED][New Subsystem Online: Throne Protocol – Sealed][Access Locked Until Alignment is Achieved]
Aelira rushed to his side. "Ethan! Hey—stay with me!"
He blinked slowly. "Still me."
She exhaled, relief mixing with tension. "For now."
Elsewhere – Above Oron Karth
Dozens of ships began to converge. The Ecliptic Circle, the Drakon Ascendancy, and at least two guild armadas lit up space like a silent war drum.
From the center of their formation, a silver-robed Archon watched the reading flicker into place.
"The Throne stirred," he whispered. "He touched the Key."
Behind him, the stars began to move—not as burning bodies, but as eyes watching from beyond.