The aurora above the Tree of Life flickered in agony across the sky. As Leon, Garrosh, and Elara broke through the storm and reached the valley, they saw Shadow Covenant priests constructing a blood-red ritual circle around the ancient tree. Tom was suspended at its center, impaled by a black crystal engraved with runes.
Elara leapt from the shadows, her emerald eyes burning with fury. "They're trying to siphon the Tree's life force to hatch the Chaos Egg!"
Chieftain Ironmane slammed his wolf-claw totem into the ground. A golden phantom wolf erupted from the ice, scattering the outer ring of priests. Seizing the moment, Leon activated his elemental resonance—fire and thunder energy coalesced into a flaming dragon specter on his left hand, while water condensed into an icy serpent sigil on his right. Red and blue energy twisted into chains that lashed toward the ritual's core.
The instant the chains struck the black crystal, radiant light burst from Tom's chest—the remnants of the Grandmaster's holy power had awakened.
"Go!" Ironmane hurled Tom toward Leon, but was struck from behind by Arthus's shadow staff.
As Leon caught the boy, he noticed the fragment clutched in Tom's hand—a shard etched with star-like patterns. "I found it beneath the altar… It looks just like the one in the prophecy…"
Before he could finish, the Tree of Life trembled violently. Black sap oozed from its bark.
"The Chaos Egg!" Elara pointed at the canopy. "Its presence is coming from inside the trunk!"
Leon pressed the Heart of the Flame Dragon against the wound in the bark. As tri-elemental energy surged inward, the tree split open—revealing the seventh Chaos Egg shard. Its shape fit perfectly with the star-shaped fragment in Tom's hand.
"I see…" Ironmane coughed up dark blood. "The key to the seal… was always the Starlight…"
Suddenly, he tore out his dragon prosthetic eye and threw it toward Leon. The red dragon specter within merged with the star fragment—and a celestial map burned onto Leon's palm. The fire, thunder, and water runes swirled around it, forming the complete mark of the Elemental Bearer.
Arthus's voice roared from behind: "Destroy the Star Mark!"
Shadow priests hurled countless black crystals—but as the star map flared to life, space itself twisted around Leon. He saw visions: his father atop the Sunset Ramparts, Foster smiling in the manor garden—and finally, the First Elemental Bearer embedding the star fragment into the Chaos Egg.
"The seal was never real…" Leon whispered. Then, with a deep breath, he pressed both the star fragment and Chaos Egg shard into the heart of the Tree of Life.
"True salvation isn't destruction… it's harmony."
Fire, thunder, water, and stardust erupted in unison. The ancient tree radiated cleansing light. Every Shadow Priest disintegrated into ash. Arthus screamed as he vanished into a rift of darkness.
When the glow faded, the Tree of Life shimmered green once more. The star fragment in Tom's hands had turned into pure white crystal.
Ironmane smiled, placing a hand on the tree. "You've understood the true meaning of elemental resonance… Now go to the Forgotten Shrine. There you'll find the final truth."
Leon tightened his grip on the crystal, feeling the flow of four elements—fire, thunder, water, and stardust—within him. He looked at his companions: Elara's bow glowed with nature's light, Garrosh's axe bore frost-bound runes, and Tom's crystal reflected the dawn.
A cold wind swept through the Frostbound Rift, yet it no longer bit. For the awakening of elemental resonance had already illuminated every corner of Azlan.
Their next destination: the Forgotten Shrine.
And as stardust fully fused with the other three elements, Leon finally understood—the end of Book I was not the end of vengeance, but the beginning of true redemption. Scattered across the land, the elemental relics would soon be revealed, guided by the light of stars, unveiling the ultimate mystery of Azlan's birth… and its near destruction.