Aether, Three Days After the Battle
The skies over Aether still shimmered with traces of blue-violet energy, remnants of Rael's battle with the Proto-Supremacy of the Black Moon, painting the atmosphere like an abstract masterpiece. In Kael's underground laboratory, Lyra stared at a cracked blue crystal on the workbench, her hands trembling as she held a dimensional scanner.
"Its energy keeps declining," whispered Dax, adjusting his technomagical glasses. "If we don't merge Rael with a new body soon, this crystal will shatter... and he'll be lost forever."
Niro leaned against the wall, his mechanical arm creaking from battle damage. "And how do we know this isn't another plan from the Proto-Supremacy? Kael's blood runs in your veins, Dax. You could be manipulating the data!"
Tension filled the room. Lyra intervened. "We don't have time to accuse each other. The Vrynn tribes have been spotted at the eastern dimensional border. They're likely searching for Lycanthea's black crystal."
Using a modified dimensional submersible, they infiltrated the territory controlled by the Proto-Supremacy. Here, the sky burned blood-red, the cracked ground oozed purple lava, and ruined structures stood upside down like the skeletal remains of giants.
"The sensors detect black crystal energy in that tower," Dax said, pointing to a cathedral-like structure surrounded by Vrynn hybrid fish-machines.
Lyra readied her energy sword. "Niro, you and Dax guard the exit. I'll go in alone."
"Are you insane? You need backup!" Niro protested.
"No. If I get caught, you need to escape with the blue crystal."
Inside the tower, Lyra found the black crystal floating above an altar, surrounded by ancient inscriptions. But as she reached for it, a shadow of the Proto-Supremacy appeared—now resembling Kael, with glowing red eyes and a sinister grin.
"Thank you for bringing me the blue crystal, Lyra."
It was a trap. Vrynn hybrids surrounded her, and the blue crystal on Lyra's belt pulsed wildly, drawn toward the black crystal.
"No...!" Lyra screamed, but the crystals had already merged. A burst of energy slammed her against the wall, and from the swirling light, Rael-Lycanthea emerged—his body half-transparent, with eyes flickering between blue and black.
"Let me go!" Rael's voice echoed.
"We must destroy them all!" Lycanthea roared.
The crystal's energy forced everyone in the tower to witness hidden memories:
- Lycanthea and the Creator were actually siblings, not husband and wife.
- They created dimensions together, but the Creator grew envious of Lycanthea's ability to control the Breath.
- Betrayal: The Creator poisoned Lycanthea, trapped her soul within the crystal, then rewrote history, framing her as the "betrayed wife."
"See?" the Proto-Supremacy whispered to Lyra. "History is a lie written by the victors."
Wounded and battered, Lyra crawled toward Rael-Lycanthea. "Rael! Listen to your own voice! You're not a monster!"
"I... am not... BUT SHE IS!" Rael-Lycanthea screamed, his blue-black energy obliterating half the tower.
Outside, Niro and Dax fought off the hybrids. "We have to get in there!" Niro shouted, firing his ion rifle.
But Dax held him back. "Wait! Look!"
Inside, Lyra pulled out a cracked medallion—Kael's final memento. "Rael, you gave this to me. You once said, 'Sometimes, the best light comes through the cracks.'"
The blue crystal embedded in the medallion glowed, reaching into the depths of Rael's buried consciousness.
Rael-Lycanthea screamed in agony. His body split into two—Rael, fragile and human, and Lycanthea, a shadowy silhouette.
"No! We must be one!" Lycanthea roared, trying to absorb Rael again.
But with the last of his strength, Rael plunged an energy blade into the black crystal. "This... is for our freedom...!"
A cataclysmic explosion destroyed the tower. The Proto-Supremacy's laughter echoed one final time before his body disintegrated. "You've only delayed the inevitable...!"
Amid the ruins, Lyra found Rael lying motionless—now fully human, but without any memory. The blue and black crystals had been reduced to dust.
"Who... am I?" Rael asked, his eyes clear but empty.
Niro approached, his sword still smoldering. "You're our friend. That's enough for now."
In the distance, amidst the dimensional dust, Lycanthea's shadow smiled softly before fading away. "Thank you, my child..."