“No!” Malik’s scream rips across the realm, raw with terror. “Not the eternal fire! Please–I’ll change, I’ll-”

    But mercy does note. The Queen’s grip on the chain tightens onest time, and with a flick, she casts

    him down.

    His scream fades into the roar of the eternal ze, swallowed as his shadowed soul is consumed, dragged into endless torment. The fire res, then seals shut, leaving only silence, as though Malik had

    never existed at all.

    The Queen remains rooted in ce, trembling, chest heaving with the remnants of battle. The chain of light unravels and dissolves into nothing as her spirit remains defiant.

    The Moon Goddess’s gaze finds her, piercing and unrelenting, but softened with something ancient and sorrowful. Her voice falls like silver rain.

    b“/bDo you regret it, child? The choice you made–abandoning the world of flesh, leaving behind your mate, your other half?”

    A ripple distorts the misty ground before them, and a mirror of light rises, suspended in the air. Within it, the mortal realm flickers into view: the King. Mighty, indomitable, yet now broken, slumped in grief. His great shoulders shake, his hands w at the earth, his howl of agony shaking the very foundations of the

    pce.

    The Queen’s lips part, her throat tight, her body aching to reach through that veil and touch him. She stares, long and hard, her hands curling into trembling fists. But when she speaks, her voice is steady,

    resolute.

    “No,i” /ishe whispers, then stronger, “No. If I hadn’t done this, Malik would have ughtered them all. Veydris would have drowned our world in shadow. There was no other path. I chose this. I ept it.”

    She breathes sharply, eyes hardening with conviction. “And besides… I will return. I will be reborn through my daughter’s womb. I will not be gone forever.”

    But the Moon Goddess’s expression shifts–her face falling like a veil of sorrow lowering over her radiance. She shakes her head slowly, her voice heavier than the silence that surrounds them.

    “About that…”

    Her hand waves once, and the mirror ripples again. The Queen turns sharply, expecting to see her daughter glowing with life.

    Instead–her breath catches.

    Kali lies in a stark, sterile room, her body pale and drenched in blood. Her cries echo faintly, wild and broken, as doctors rush around her. Jack is there, his face carved with anguish, clutching her hand as if

    it’s the only thing tethering him to life. The doctor’s grim voice cuts through the chaos like a knife:

    “She’s lost the baby.”

    The Queen’s scream tears from her throat, raw and broken. She copses to her knees before the Goddess, hands wing at the mist. Her crown of silver light slips, flickering, as tears stream down her glowing

    face.

    “No… no, please. Not my grandchild. Not Maya’s child.” Her words tremble with despair. “Take me! Take

    my soul, my essence–anything. Just don’t let her lose this child. Don’t let her bear this grief on top of

    mine.”

    She presses her forehead to the ground, bowing low before the Moon Goddess, her body wracked with

    sobs. “I gave up my body already. I will give you everything. Just let me save them. Please!”

    The Goddess gazes down at her, her eternal eyes unreadable, the silence stretching heavy–too heavy.

    The Queen lifts her tear–streaked face, her voice breaking. “Please, Moon Mother… save my daughter’s

    child.”

    The air thickens. The silver light dims, as though the Goddess herself is weighing a terrible decision. At

    “If I save your daughter’s child in exchange for your soul… then you cannot be reborn. You will never return to the mortal world. Not through your daughter’s womb. Not ever. So–choose.”

    The Queen’s breath catches, her glowing eyes wide with anguish.

    The mist trembles. The mirror flickers. The choice hangs, unbearable.

    And the silence waits for her answer.

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    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!