"When something escapes the Fold, something else must take its place."— Whispered rule of the Deep Archive
Lyra sat against a wall of floating script.Her breath was shaky, her hands trembling.She looked older than before—not in body, but in soul.
Vayren sat beside her.Silent.Bleeding memories he couldn't name.
She looked at him.
"Why'd you come?""You didn't even know if I was still me."
"Didn't care," Vayren replied softly."Still wanted to find you."
Lyra's lips curled.A cracked smile. Not her usual teasing one.
"You're an idiot."
💔 Scene: What Lyra Saw
"Vayren… I was awake in here for days. Months maybe."
"Everything screamed. Everything begged. Some of it wore my voice."
"I met a child with no face who asked me what my 'final version' would be."
"I think… I forgot people. I think I used to have a sister."
She stared at her hands.
"I don't remember her name."
"I think that's the price the Fold took from me."
👁️ World Reveal: The Fold Demands Balance
Every time something escapes, something else is either:
Rewritten
Replaced
Or pulled in as collateral
And… since two escaped?
The Fold is preparing to take something big.
Suddenly, the floating words around them turned red.
Lyra's rune-stone cracked again.The Mark on Vayren's chest spun backward.
"No no no—" Lyra stood up. "It's locking us in."
A voice echoed around them—like laughter made of stone shattering.
"You broke the Fold's symmetry, Hollowborn.""Now it breaks you back."
🕷️ New Threat: The Balancer
A stitched creature of equations, red threads, and runes that bleed
One hand holds a quill, the other a scale made of hearts
Its face is a mirror reflecting your most hated version of yourself
It speaks in contracts, not words
"One of you stays. One of you pays."
⚔️ Battle: The Fold Doesn't Fight Fair
The Balancer targets Lyra first — not because she's weaker, but because she wasn't meant to leave.
Vayren leaps in front of her.
"Echo: Reverse Claim."
The spell works—but just barely.Veilbrand glows white-hot, burning into his own name.
His left eye vanishes, erased from his identity entirely.He doesn't feel it.
"I'm not losing you again," he growled.
⚔️ Lyra's Counterattack: Infernal Runeburst
Lyra steps up. Her cracked rune-stone implodes, releasing Infernal Veyra she didn't know she still had.
Flames bend inward.Reality hiccups.Even the Balancer pauses, surprised.
"We're not staying," she says, eyes glowing."You can keep our ghosts, but not our bodies."
Together, they strike.
Veilbrand + Infernal Fire = Forbidden Combination
They slash the Balancer through its reflection, not its body.The creature screams without sound—dissolves into floating glyphs and static.
🌠 Final Scene: Escape
The Fold begins collapsing around them.A spiraling hole opens in the sky — pure white light.
They run.Together.Falling through the last gate with hands clasped.
🌎 Meanwhile…
In a cold chamber beneath Sanctum Auris, Vellamira opens her eyes.
"The Hollow Star has escaped the Fold.""With her.""The pattern is now unstable."
Saint Reversal steps from the shadows.
"What should we do?"
Vellamira smiled, calm and cruel.
"Send the Heir of Dust. And prepare the Second Relic."