The Guardian's presence hung heavy in the air, his words etched in their minds like a lingering echo. Ethan and Aelira stood before the throne, their minds spinning with the revelation—the God wasn't the only danger. The throne's destruction was necessary, but doing so would unleash something far worse.
Aelira turned to Ethan, her heart heavy with the weight of their choice. "We destroy the throne, we end the God's hold. But we also shatter the barrier holding whatever's worse."
Ethan's expression was unreadable, his eyes fixed on the throne, the focal point of their turmoil. "If we don't, that force will break through anyway, right? The God's not meant to rise, but neither is the seal."
The Guardian's ethereal form shimmered with quiet urgency. "There are other ways, but they require sacrifice. The throne's power was never meant to be destroyed by mortal hands."
"But we don't have a choice," Aelira interrupted. Her voice was firm, but her heart trembled. "We can't let that power out. We'll find another way to contain it, even if it costs us."
Ethan reached for her hand, his touch grounding her. "If we destroy it, will we be able to leave this place? Will we survive what comes next?"
The Guardian's gaze softened. "Survival is not certain. The destruction of the throne will create a vacuum. The balance will shatter. You may be caught in the wake."
Aelira swallowed hard, her thoughts racing. They couldn't back out. The truth of the stars had always been more dangerous than any one of them. But what would they lose in doing so? What would they risk?
A pulse of power surged through the room—an unnatural ripple. The ground beneath them trembled again, and the throne itself began to hum, its energy growing unstable.
Ethan turned to Aelira. "This is it. The longer we wait, the more we risk."
She looked at the throne, its ominous allure taunting her every instinct. Break it. Destroy it. Those words echoed in her mind, and she realized that what they were about to do would tear apart the fragile line between life and death itself.
"Then we end it," Aelira whispered.
The Guardian's form faded into light, his voice now a distant murmur. "The balance… will be yours to rebuild."
With a single step, Aelira approached the throne. Her fingers brushed against the cold stone, and she felt the pulsing power flood through her. Her connection to Ethan, their shared bond, surged—stronger than it had ever been, a force of nature.
But as the energy swelled, something inside her shifted. She gasped, her body flickering between states—reality bending around them. The power of the throne wasn't just going to be destroyed. It was going to change them.
"Ethan!" she cried out, but her voice sounded distant, as though lost in a void.
He rushed to her side, his grip firm around her wrist, but his expression was filled with confusion and fear. "Aelira! What's happening?"
The throne roared to life as its power erupted outward, the chains of starlight shattering with a deafening crack. The surge of energy rushed through Aelira's body, and her eyes glowed with white-hot light.
Ethan felt it too—his power, his connection to her, tearing apart and being remade.
Aelira looked into his eyes, her voice strained. "It's not just the throne… it's us, Ethan. We're part of this cycle. If we destroy it, we won't just stop the God—we'll become something else."
The room shattered into pure energy, and before them stood an unearthly void—a portal to something far darker. It was like the veil between worlds had been lifted.
And standing at the threshold of that darkness was an entity—a shadow wrapped in ancient power, staring at them with eyes that seemed to contain the entire cosmos.
"You… would destroy me?"
The voice was neither malevolent nor benign. It was the voice of fate itself. The last thing they would ever hear before everything changed.