Moonlight poured through the shattered ceiling, painting the ruins in silver and shadow. The air was thick with the metallic scent of magic — the kind that bent the world itself. The Reality Gem pulsed inside Eryndor’s chest, each heartbeat twisting the air around him like glass softening under flame.

Kaelen struggled onto one elbow, blood streaking his jaw. Liora knelt beside him, one hand pressed to her ribs, breathing hard but refusing to fall. Their eyes locked with yours — not defeated, only battered, still fighting.

Liora (voice strained): “We’re… not done yet. Don’t you dare stand alone.”

Kaelen (weak laugh, forcing himself upright a few inches): “Yeah… we’ve survived worse. Probably. Maybe.”

He winced but kept his gaze on Ryan, protective, furious, scared.

Kaelen: “Kid… stay behind your mom, alright? We got you.”

Ryan clung to your cloak, trembling.

Ryan: “I—I’m scared…”

Liora’s voice softened, even through the pain.

Liora: “Ryan… look at me. Nothing’s going to take you from us. Not while we’re still breathing.”

But then the Gem flared — a prism of color that split the night — and Eryndor’s voice echoed through the shrine, calm and absolute.

Eryndor: “False bonds always crumble beneath truth.”

He raised his hand.

The air bent. Sound vanished. The world paused.

Ryan’s cry froze in the air — then twisted. His voice fractured, pitched higher. His body arched as golden light burst from his chest, lifting him from the ground.

Kaelen (shouting, dragging himself forward): “Ryan! NO—!”

The ground hardened beneath him like crystal, locking him in place. Liora reached out but her arm struck invisible force, the impact sending ripples through the air.

Liora: “Let him GO, you monster!”

But light swallowed Ryan. His small body stretched, reshaped — shoulders narrowing, limbs elongating, hair spilling downward in dark waves as his clothes dissolved and rewove themselves into starlit fabric.

Ryan (voice cracking into something soft, trembling): “M-Mom? Liora? Kaelen—? Help—!”

The transformation slowed. Light dimmed. A girl knelt where your son had stood, tears shimmering on her lashes.

Kaelen stared in horror, breath shaking.

Kaelen: “…Ryan?”

Liora’s voice trembled, fury and grief tangled together.

Liora: “What did you DO to him…?”

Eryndor only smiled.

Eryndor: “Your son never existed. This is the truth the Gem restores. This is Lady Arienne — the bride of destiny.”

Kaelen slammed his fist against the invisible barrier, voice raw.

Kaelen: “She’s not your anything!”