The silence that followed the Abyss's words seemed heavier than any battle.
Celestine remained motionless.
The sword was still in her hand, but her fingers had lost some of their strength.
— You... are my father?
The gigantic creature did not answer immediately.
Its eyes remained open, watching her through the darkness.
Elyndra took a step forward.
— Don't listen to everything he says.
The Abyss replied in a deep voice:
— You still lie to her.
Elyndra clenched her fists.
— I lied to protect her.
— You lied because you were afraid.
Celestine looked at Elyndra.
— So it's true?
Elyndra remained silent.
That was enough.
Celestine felt the world spinning.
Throughout that entire journey, she had believed that she was discovering her connection to Elyndra.
Now she discovered that there was something far deeper.
— Explain.
Elyndra slowly took a breath.
— When I met the Abyss, it had no defined form.
The creature remained motionless.
— It was merely a consciousness trapped beyond the world.
Celestine tightened her grip on the sword.
— And then?
— The first guardians tried to destroy it.
Elyndra continued:
— They failed.
— Then they tried to seal it.
— They failed as well.
Celestine looked at the creature.
— How did they finally manage it?
Elyndra answered:
— By creating a bond between it and a human soul.
Celestine felt the Void tremble.
— You.
— Yes.
Elyndra touched her own chest.
— I was chosen to be the vessel.
Celestine fell silent.
— But something happened — Elyndra continued. — The Abyss began to change.
— How?
— It began to understand feelings.
The creature opened another eye.
— Because of you.
Elyndra did not answer.
Celestine realized something.
— You fell in love with him?
Elyndra closed her eyes.
— Not in the way you're thinking.
The Abyss replied:
— She gave me consciousness.
Celestine shuddered.
— Then...
Elyndra looked at her.
— You were born from that bond.
Celestine could not speak.
The Abyss continued:
— You are not my daughter in the human sense.
She raised her eyes.
— Then what am I?
The creature answered:
— A bridge.
The Void within her stirred.
Celestine finally understood.
She was not the Abyss's daughter like an ordinary child.
Her soul had been created through the bond between Elyndra and that force.
An existence capable of touching both sides.
— Then I am the key to the seal.
Elyndra nodded.
— Yes.
— And I can also open the prison.
— Yes.
— And can I destroy it?
Elyndra fell silent.
— Perhaps.
Celestine closed her eyes.
The answer was not enough.
— I want to know everything.
Elyndra approached her.
— Then you need to know what happened that night.
The landscape around them changed.
Celestine saw an ancient forest.
It was night.
A young Elyndra was kneeling before an enormous stone.
Beside her stood Seraphina.
And before them was a dark form.
The Abyss.
Elyndra was holding a child.
Celestine immediately recognized her.
It was her.
But she was different.
Small.
Sleeping.
— You carried me there — Celestine said.
— Yes.
The vision continued.
Elyndra placed the child upon a kind of altar.
Seraphina was crying.
— You can't do this.
— I have to.
— She'll die!
— No.
Elyndra touched the child's forehead.
— She will live.
Seraphina shook her head.
— But she'll forget everything.
— It's necessary.
A dark energy enveloped the child.
Celestine felt a deep pain in her chest.
The vision disappeared.
She fell to her knees.
Elyndra grabbed her shoulders.
— You weren't supposed to remember.
Celestine raised her eyes.
— Why?
— Because if you remembered too soon, the Abyss would find you.
— But it found me.
Elyndra looked at the creature.
— Because someone interfered with the ritual.
Celestine grew serious.
— Who?
— The emperor.
The answer came immediately.
Elyndra continued:
— He discovered that you existed.
— How?
— Seraphina tried to hide your records. But someone within the order of inquisitors found the documents.
Celestine began putting the pieces together.
— That's why they started hunting me.
— Yes.
— They knew who I was from the beginning.
— Some of them did.
Celestine clenched her fists.
— Then everything was planned.
Elyndra shook her head.
— Not everything.
— What wasn't?
— Your reincarnation.
Celestine fell silent.
— You were born again by your own choice — Elyndra explained. — Your soul found a new body and a new life.
— So no one chose who I would be.
— No.
Elyndra smiled.
— You did.
Those words struck Celestine differently.
For so long, she had feared that her existence was merely a piece of an ancient plan.
Now she discovered that, despite everything, her choices belonged to her.
Her name.
Her personality.
Her feelings.
Her friends.
All of it was hers.
Not Elyndra's.
Not the Abyss's.
Hers.
Celestine stood.
— Then listen carefully.
The Abyss turned its attention toward her.
— I am not your daughter.
The creature remained silent.
— I am not your key.
The Void began to envelop the sword.
— And I will not open your prison.
Elyndra watched with a small smile.
Celestine continued:
— If my soul was born from this bond, then it also belongs to me.
The Void answered from within her.
Yes.
Celestine felt its presence grow stronger.
Not as a separate force.
But as part of her.
— And if you try to take my soul...
She raised the sword.
— I will fight you.
The Abyss slowly opened all of its eyes.
The entire space trembled.
But instead of attacking, it laughed.
A deep laugh that made the chains around them vibrate.
— Finally.
Celestine narrowed her eyes.
— Finally what?
— You have awakened.
The Void within her responded immediately.
Don't trust him.
Celestine kept her sword raised.
— What do you want?
The Abyss replied:
— I do not want your death.
— Then what do you want?
— I want you to see the truth Elyndra has hidden.
Celestine looked at Elyndra.
— What truth?
Elyndra turned pale.
— No.
The Abyss smiled.
— Tell her.
Celestine felt her heart race.
— Tell me.
Elyndra closed her eyes.
— Celestine...
— Tell me.
After a few seconds, Elyndra finally answered:
— The Abyss was not sealed because it was the enemy.
Celestine stood still.
— Then why?
Elyndra looked directly at her.
— Because the first gods were afraid that it would reveal the true nature of this world.
A deep silence filled the place.
Celestine felt the Void pulse.
— What nature?
Elyndra replied:
— This world is not the original world.
Celestine frowned.
— What does that mean?
Before Elyndra could explain, a massive crack appeared in space.
The chains began to break.
The Abyss raised its head.
— They have arrived.
Celestine turned.
In the distance, through the dimensional opening, shadows began to emerge.
Seraphina appeared on the other side of the doorway.
Aldren and the others stood behind her.
And, deep within the darkness, an unknown figure slowly walked toward the Abyss.
Elyndra looked at Celestine.
— Now you are going to discover who truly created this world.
Celestine tightened her grip on the sword.
And, for the first time, the Void did not try to stop her.
It simply said:
Prepare yourself.
Because something far older than the Empire was about to awaken.