The question hung in the neutral air of the Atolls, a final, inescapable demand. The Keeper of the Fractured Library demanded the Debt of Ultimate Truth, the secret of the event that forged Kael Ardyn's power.
Lysandra looked at Kael, her face etched with concern. "Kael, don't. That debt is too great; your identity is your shield."
Kael raised a hand, silencing her. He looked out at the tranquil, crystalline water, knowing that the price of all existence was often the surrender of self. He had learned the terrifying, liberating truth that his life was no longer his own; it was owed to the universe he protected.
He focused on the memory of the dark, agonising core of his identity. It was the moment he had entered the Black Sands, not as a victim, but as an act of absolute, desperate choice.
He pushed the truth into the shimmering projection of the Keeper, not with his voice, but with the cold, absolute force of his will.
"The original debt that birthed my Absolution was not committed by another. It was mine," Kael projected.
He paused, the air growing heavy with his secret.
"The truth I suppressed, the memory I traded, is this: I entered the Black Sands and embraced non-existence to absolve the unpayable grief of my dying world."
He released the full, terrifying image of the event: his former dimension, a beautiful, vibrant world, slowly suffocating under the Debt of Unpaid Sorrow following a terrible, final war. The system was deadlocked, trapped in its own collective, eternal Sorrow.
"My power was not given. It was an act of pure, ultimate sacrifice. I offered the cosmic system a Debt of Non-Existence, the final, absolute consequence of my own life, to clear the communal Debt of Sorrow. The system accepted the collateral, creating the Reclaimer as the eternal mechanism to pay it. My Absolution is fueled by the promise of my eventual, absolute annihilation."
The silent, shocking transmission of this truth, the Debt of Self-Annihilation, shattered the remaining defences around Kael's core. The energy poured out, a payment of sheer existential truth.
The Keeper's voice reverberated with profound, ancient satisfaction. "Truth logged. The Debt of Ultimate Truth is paid."
The Keeper immediately projected the final data package into Kael's mind, a map of impossible coordinates and strategic information concerning the Broker's most terrifying defence.
"The Broker's final weakness: The Primal Tally is located at the centre of the Broker's reformed being. You cannot reach it directly. You must confront the Enforcers and expose the core contradiction of their power: their loyalty to the Sovereign is built on the lie of 'Absolute Authority.'"
The coordinates to the Monastery of the Silent Vow, the Broker's new target for the Debt of Forgiveness, seared into Kael's mind.
The Keeper's presence withdrew, leaving Kael kneeling, hollowed out by the revelation, but armed with the final, necessary intelligence.
Lysandra rushed to him, her expression a mix of shock and fierce loyalty. "Kael... you carry the end of a world. You pay for all of it."
Kael slowly got to his feet. He was empty, but strangely liberated. The ultimate secret was out; the final price was known. His end was written into his existence.
"It doesn't matter," Kael said, his voice calm, absolute. "The end is only a consequence. The fight itself is the choice."
He looked at Lysandra, his eyes hard with focus. "The Broker is attacking Forgiveness. The Enforcers are protecting him, armed with the ability to reverse my Word. Our final fight begins now. We have to stop the Debt of Nihilism from becoming eternal."
Lysandra nodded, the calculated logic returning to her gaze. "The final confrontation requires more than just Absolution. It requires Arbitration. We must reach the Monastery of the Silent Vow."
She activated the temporal relay, opening a jump that shimmered with the intense, spiritual light of a sacred dimension.
"The Broker will be waiting with his three most dangerous agents," Lysandra said, stepping toward the portal. "They will try to turn your truth into a lie. They will try to make you pay the ultimate price."
Kael followed her, stepping into the brilliant light. He was heading toward the final battle, a man who had chosen to destroy his own world to save a principle, now ready to face the consequences.