Kaelen's breath caught. The core of his chest felt as though it were suddenly being split in two, not by pain, but by a tidal surge of overwhelming, impossible power. He staggered back, the very ground under his boots fracturing into spiderweb cracks as white-gold light poured from his skin.
"What are you—"
"Final unison," Eternity said, calm and inevitable. "You and I… no longer wielder and weapon. No longer bearer and burden. One."
The words hit like thunder. The moment they were spoken, Pandora — the magic he had carried and fought to keep from Endless — stirred for the last time like an ancient beast opening its eyes. Its black-violet essence erupted from deep within him, coiling up his arms, wrapping around the Blade of Eternity in luminous streams. But instead of resisting one another, the two forces met… and intertwined.
And then—
The Ruptured Sky screamed.
