Location: Throne Crypt – Inner Chamber
The crypt doors hissed open, not with sound, but with pressure — like reality bending to let them in.
Inside: a massive hall shaped like a spiral staircase falling inward.
Each level was covered in Kael's past — scenes frozen in glowing crystal.
His first victory.
His first betrayal.
His first kiss.
His last command.
> "I thought I erased all this," Kael whispered.
Yanis said nothing.
At the bottom of the spiral stood the Throne — not of gold, but carved from obsidian Seed-core, alive with veins of red memory.
And above it hovered the final fragment.
Thirteenth.
Unclaimed.
Still beating.
---
The girl in red stood beside it, fully manifested now — her red cloak trailing ash, her eyes glowing with every Seed Kael ever absorbed.
> "You sealed me here. You crowned yourself and left me to rot."
> "You were the lock," Kael said softly.
> "I was your lock," she corrected. "Your guilt. Your fear. Your truth."
She raised her hand — and the chamber trembled.
> "Take the throne, Kael. Reclaim what you are."
> "I'm not a king."
> "Not anymore. But you were. And the throne still remembers."
---
Decision Time
The fragment pulsed — offering itself.
If Kael absorbs it, he becomes whole again.
If he destroys it, the throne dies — and so does the girl.
But destroying it will also sever the soul-link with Yanis, and she won't survive the backlash.
Kael stepped forward. Silent. Breathing hard.
He looked at the girl.
He looked at Yanis.
And then he said:
> "I'm tired of being someone I don't recognize."
He placed his hand on the fragment.
For a second, nothing.
Then—
Flame.
It surged through him — every memory, every moment, every pain and triumph and lie.
Yanis collapsed, screaming.
Kael roared—and pulled the Seed inward.
> [Thirteenth Fragment Claimed: STATUS - Contained]
[New Class Acquired: "Null Throne"]
[Trait: "Fragment Devourer" – All Seed fragments may now be overwritten or restructured]
[WARNING: Soul-link damage detected – Subject Yanis Drae: Stable, but altered]
[Shared Power: 19% Leakage]
[Girl in Red – Reintegrated]
The throne went dark.
The hall crumbled.
Kael held Yanis as they escaped the ruin.
---
Later — Outside the Crypt
They sat in silence beneath a fractured sky.
Yanis finally looked up.
> "So… what now?"
Kael stood, eyes glowing faintly.
> "Now we find the others."
> "What others?"
> "The ones who took my throne while I slept."
---