The first thing Mona felt when her eyes opened was silence.
The fighting had stopped. The world was still.
But something was different.
She wasn't lying on the cold stone anymore—she was floating. Not in body, but in soul.
Light flickered at the edges of her vision—gold, red, silver. All swirling around her chest.
The bond had cracked… but not broken.
One tether pulled toward Sunghoon.
One, twisted and raw, still burned toward Niki.
And deep inside her chest…
A third force pulsed.
Not love. Not darkness. Something older. Something final.
In the Ritual Chamber
"Mona?" Sunghoon leaned over her, blood staining the collar of his tunic. "Please open your eyes."
Niki stood across the broken altar, his chest rising and falling fast, hands shaking. His hair clung to his forehead. His fangs were gone. But his eyes…
Still burned faintly gold.
Then—she gasped.
And the entire room shifted.
Her body lifted again, not from ritual this time—but from power.
Her arms floated out. Her eyes opened fully.
And for the first time—
Both of her irises were split.
One side glowing silver.
The other red-gold.
The Queen and the Lightborn had collided.
"Mona?" Niki whispered.
But when she turned to look at him, something in her gaze made both boys step back.
She wasn't just Mona anymore.
She was everything.
"Don't say a word," she whispered, and the room obeyed.
The winds stilled. The runes flickered out. Time seemed to pause.
She looked at Sunghoon.
Saw every scar. Every glance. Every quiet act of loyalty. His fire had always burned steady.
Then she looked at Niki.
The brokenness. The rage. The boy who danced under neon lights but lived like a shadow. Her shadow.
Tears ran down her cheeks.
"I can't carry both of you anymore," she said, voice barely human.
Niki stepped forward, trembling. "I don't care about the curse. About Veylor. I still love you."
Sunghoon didn't speak.
He just stood there—watching her with complete trust.
That was what broke her.
She turned slowly.
And walked toward Sunghoon.
Not because he was safer.
Not because he was easier.
But because he had loved her without asking her to burn.
When she touched his chest, her mark glowed brighter than ever—then dissolved into light.
The tether between her and Niki snapped.
Niki fell to his knees, chest caving inward, gasping like the air had been knocked from his soul.
"No…"
His fingers gripped the floor.
And the spirit of Veylor roared.
But Mona turned to him.
Even though her choice was made, her love wasn't gone.
"Niki… you don't need me to survive," she said through tears. "You were light before me. You can be it again."
He looked up at her, broken. Bleeding.
And for the first time…
He nodded.
Not in forgiveness.
Not in anger.
But in acceptance.
Later that night, Mona stood on the balcony of the mansion.
The stars burned clear.
Sunghoon stepped beside her, his arm still bandaged.
"You chose me," he said quietly.
"I chose the world," she replied. "And it led me to you."
They leaned in.
And kissed.
Not like flames colliding.
But like embers finding peace.
But far in the Hollow Realm
Niki stood alone—looking into the cracked mirror of a once-cursed throne.
He whispered to the shadows—
"Then I will find a way to burn this out of me…"
"Even if it kills me."