Chapter 100: The Final Choice

Evryn stood at the edge of the world, the wind rustling through her hair, carrying with it the scent of something new. The air felt... different. There was an unnatural stillness that settled over everything, as if the very fabric of reality itself had taken a breath and held it.

The rift had been sealed. The void was no longer consuming the world, no longer threatening to unravel everything in its wake. She had made the choice to stop it—to destroy the rift, to embrace the power that had been awakened within her. She had taken the risk, cast aside her doubts, and done what she believed to be the only way forward.

But now, in the silence that followed, Evryn found herself wondering if she had made the right decision.

Was it worth it?

Her mind echoed with the question, over and over again. The cost had been high. So many had suffered. So many had been lost. The memories of those who had fallen, the lives that had been changed forever, pressed upon her like a heavy burden.

But as she took a slow step forward, her gaze falling on the horizon where the sun began to set, she knew that she couldn't undo what had been done. The rift had been her responsibility. She had been the one to step into the heart of the storm, the one to make the choice to close it.

And yet... she was still here.

For so long, she had been told that the power she possessed was a curse, a force too dangerous to control. But now, as she felt the hum of it deep inside her—alive, but no longer threatening—she realized the truth.

She was no longer a pawn in someone else's game. She had become the architect of her own fate.

As she walked through the silent landscape, her thoughts turned to Kieran.

Where was he?

For a brief moment, her mind wandered back to the time before the rift, before the chaos. To the days they had spent together—moments filled with laughter, love, and a shared purpose. Kieran had been her anchor, her strength in a world that had often felt lost. But since the rift had opened, since she had crossed into the unknown, she hadn’t been able to find him.

He had disappeared. Or rather, she had lost him.

The thoughts were sharp, like a blade that cut through her resolve. What if it was too late? What if Kieran was lost forever?

Just as the weight of her doubt began to settle in, a whisper of wind reached her ears. The voice was faint at first, but unmistakable. She froze in her tracks, her heart pounding in her chest.

"Evryn."

Her name. The sound of it, the way it rolled off his tongue, made her breath catch in her throat. She whirled around, her pulse quickening, but there was nothing—just the same barren expanse she had seen moments before.

And yet, the voice lingered in the air, surrounding her like a soft, familiar caress.

"Evryn," it called again. This time, it was clearer. Louder. More urgent.

She gasped. No... it can't be.

Her mind scrambled for answers, for any explanation. She wanted to believe it was him—Kieran—but the reality of it felt too impossible. After everything, after the chaos, after the destruction, could he truly be here? Could he have survived the rift?

As if in response to her confusion, the world around her shimmered. The ground beneath her feet rippled like water, and a faint glow began to emerge on the horizon. It was a soft light at first, flickering like the dying embers of a fire, but it grew stronger with each passing second. And in the heart of that glow, she saw him.

Kieran.

But not in the way she remembered. He wasn’t standing before her, alive and whole. Instead, he appeared as a specter, his form flickering between light and shadow, his eyes distant and filled with an emotion she couldn’t quite place. The connection between them was still there—strong, unyielding—but there was something off about him.

"Evryn," he spoke again, his voice filled with a deep, aching sorrow. "I... I never meant for this to happen."

She reached out toward him, her chest tightening with the overwhelming urge to hold him. But her fingers passed through him like air, leaving only a cold, empty sensation in their wake.

"What’s happening?" she asked, her voice breaking. "Where are you? Why can’t I touch you?"

"I’m not here the way you think I am," Kieran’s voice echoed softly, like the wind whispering through the trees. "I’ve been lost... between worlds, between the rift. But I’m not gone. I’m still here, in the space between."

Her heart clenched. "No. You can’t be. You can't be lost to me, not after everything we’ve been through."

He was silent for a long time, his gaze distant, like he was trying to reach out to her from a place beyond her understanding.

"Evryn," he said finally, his voice breaking with emotion. "I never wanted you to bear the weight of this. The rift, the power, the choice... it was always too much for one person to carry. But you, you’ve become more than I could ever have imagined. You’ve done something no one thought was possible. And for that... I’m proud of you."

Tears stung Evryn’s eyes, but she shook her head. "No. Don’t say that. Don’t leave me like this. I need you, Kieran. You were always my anchor. You were the reason I fought, the reason I believed that there was something worth saving. Please, don’t be gone."

He gave her a small, sad smile, one that broke her heart all over again. "You were never alone in this, Evryn. Not truly. I’ll always be with you, in your heart, in the choices you make. Even if I can’t physically be there... I’ll be with you."

And just as quickly as he had appeared, Kieran’s form began to fade, his silhouette dissolving into the light.

Evryn reached out one final time, her fingers brushing against the fading glow. "No, Kieran. Please, don’t go."

His voice, now a whisper, drifted back to her one last time. "Goodbye, my love."

And then he was gone.

The light disappeared, leaving Evryn standing alone in the silence once more. Her heart ached with an emptiness she couldn’t describe. But as the last remnants of his presence faded, she knew that the choice she had made, the choice to close the rift, had been the right one.

It was the only choice.

And now, with Kieran's final words echoing in her heart, Evryn knew that she was no longer just the key. She was the one who had sealed the future. She had saved the worlds, but at the cost of everything she had once known.

The weight of it all threatened to crush her, but she stood tall, her resolve unshaken. The world was hers to protect now. No matter the price.

But just as she thought it was over, a strange humming sound filled the air. A low vibration, deep in the earth, as if something was stirring beneath her feet. She turned, eyes scanning the horizon. Something was wrong.

The ground trembled beneath her, and she felt a sudden surge of energy—a presence, not unlike the rift, but something different.

Something darker.

Evryn’s heart raced. The battle had only just begun.