The tomb was quiet.
Not the silence of fear or death — but of peace.
The flames had died. The god had fallen. The shards had chosen.
Kael stood at the edge of the cooled pit, looking down at the faint glow left behind — not fire, but memory.
"We really did it," he whispered.
Serin joined him. "No crown. No ruler. Just… balance."
Lira walked along the broken golden steps, fingertips brushing ancient carvings. "The world was nearly lost to a fire no one could control."
Corren, quiet as ever, leaned against a pillar. "And yet… we're still here."
Outside, the desert sky was brighter than they'd ever seen it.
The winds had softened. The sand no longer shifted in warning. Villagers from Mirash gathered at the edge of the crater, staring in awe.
Raeh stepped forward, her staff glowing with final light. She bowed before the five.
"The shards are awakened. The cycle is broken."
She looked at Kael. "What will you do now?"
He looked at his friends.
The five who had become family.
"I don't know," he said honestly. "But we'll walk it together."
🛡️ Days Later…
Back in the village, celebration filled the air.
Children ran through the streets with paper suns and wind kites. Fires danced in safe hearths, not battlefields. The people told stories — of the five who stopped a god, and lit the world anew.
Kael sat on a roof with Lira, looking at the stars.
She asked, "Do you ever miss the quiet?"
He smiled. "No. But I do miss being normal sometimes."
Lira nodded. "Same. But… maybe the world doesn't need normal anymore."
He turned to her. "Maybe it needs protectors."
🎇 One Night Later
Serin stood alone on a cliff edge, her cloak fluttering in the wind.
From her palm, she released her shard — not to lose it, but to let it live.
The wind took it.
High, free, and bright.
Corren stood nearby in the shadows, watching silently.
"You're not giving it up?" he asked.
Serin smiled. "No. I'm sharing it."
He nodded.
From his hand, the shadow shard dissolved into mist, drifting over the sands like memory.
Lira and Kael joined them. One by one, they released their shards into the sky.
And together — the lights spun like a constellation.
💫 Final Words
In a world once ruled by kings and gods, five ordinary people chose something greater:
Unity.
The shards would live on — not in crowns or weapons — but in people.
And as dawn rose again over the desert…
A new story began.