They came like ghosts.
No footsteps. No voices. Just pressure—like gravity had warped.
The Crownless stepped into the final ring.
Lilith screamed as her wards cracked. Valmira’s magic flared like wildfire.
And at the center, I stood.
But not with a shard.
With the First Flame in my chest, burning brighter than ever.
The golden figure appeared again, haloed in shadow.
"You are not enough."
I smiled.
"Not alone."
And the professors appeared at my back, every one of them bloodied—but standing.
That was our answer.
Not power.
But presence.