Three days later, on the eve of the Emperor's coronation anniversary, the ritual was performed.
Not in a temple.
Not in a cathedral.
Not in the coliseum.
But in the ruined crater, in front of the silver pillar holding the names of the nine.
They stood in a circle. Ethan at the center.
Seraphina stood to his right. Aria, to his left. Luna behind him, hands pressed gently on his shoulders. Victoria, across from Elena, who was holding the Codex of the First Light. Lucien stood at the northern point, Sword of Dawn drawn, its light a steady beacon.
Elena began to chant.
The ancient language echoed through the stones, not spoken — but awakened. The runes on the Codex glowed, then lifted into the air, spiraling around Ethan like golden fireflies.
The ground beneath him trembled.
Then the binding began.
Not with power.
But with memory.
Aria remembered holding a child's hand in the ash.
Victoria remembered burning away despair.
Luna remembered her father's hand squeezing hers for the first time.
Seraphina remembered the last time her mother smiled.
Elena remembered finding Ethan in the library, holding the grimoire like a promise.
And Ethan — he remembered standing in a convenience store, earbuds in, listening to a story he loved.
And then being killed.
And then waking up.
And choosing — choosing every day — to become more than a footnote.
The light rose.
It wasn't white. Wasn't gold. Wasn't silver.
It was seven colors.
The colors of five heroines.
And one man.
The seal on the ground beneath him began to glow, cracks sealing themselves, dark veins turning to crystalline gold.
The world held its breath.
Then — a sigh.
Like the earth exhaling after centuries.
The seal stabilized.
The pressure of ancient darkness that had pressed against the world since before empires rose — it lifted.
Ethan's body shimmered.
Then faded.
One moment he was standing.
The next — gone.
No body.
No trace.
Just silence.
Then Aria screamed.
"ETHAN!"
She tore forward, falling to her knees where he had stood.
Nothing.
No pulse.
No breath.
No soul.
Only the glowing seal on the ground — now etched with seven symbols.
One for each of them.
And one new rune — small, at the center.
A single word.
THANK YOU.
Aria wept.
Luna wept.
Victoria broke her sword against the pillar — the only grief she knew how to show.
Seraphina closed her eyes, and whispered to the wind: "You made me believe in something I'd forgotten."
Elena placed her hand on the seal.
And whispered back.
"I know how you did it."