The skies over the Cathedral churned like storm-torn silk.
Warp signatures flared, one after another—dozens. Red, gold, and pure white.
Peridot's panicked voice echoed over the Court's internal channels. "Confirmed: Pyrope's back with a full strike squad! Estimated numbers… seventy-five—no, eighty Gem warriors. She's got elite-class tech with her now."
In the throne chamber, Kael stood in full armor, his cloak an extension of the shadows curling at his feet. The obsidian glaive hovered just behind him, crackling with barely restrained power. Next to him stood Ignivite, radiating light and flame, no longer a prisoner of the deep.
Kael looked out over his assembled Court.
Ashen Garnet stood stone-faced at the front. Shadelace had fused her shadow limbs into wings that shimmered like smoke. Several recently restored Gems—Onyx, Blood Quartz, and Ghost Spinel—held defensive formations.
But Kael's eyes searched the crowd for someone else.
There she was.
Connie.
Armored, sword gleaming at her hip, confidence etched into every stride.
She looked at him and offered a half-grin. "Ready to save the world again?"
Kael chuckled. "Only if you're beside me."
Connie's smile faltered for a half-second, just enough to reveal the faintest blush. "Always."
The Battlefield: Skyfall Ridge
Pyrope didn't wait. She opened the battle with a focused orbital strike, searing a crater into the valley below the Cathedral.
Her new forces swept forward in formation—high-tech fusions of Gem warriors and light constructs. Their armor gleamed like fire-forged gold.
Kael raised his hand. "Obsidian Court! For the forgotten! For the fractured!"
His voice rang out, deep and commanding.
"For the future!"
Shadow surged from beneath the Obsidian Cathedral, forming steps in the sky, carrying him high into the air. Connie followed, sword drawn, riding on summoned dark platforms Kael created beneath her feet.
Ignivite exploded skyward like a meteor.
The battle met in a blinding storm of shadow, light, and fire.
Kael clashed with Pyrope mid-air.
"You learned to fly," she snarled, parrying his glaive with her halberd. "Too bad you never learned who you really are."
"I am who I choose to be!" Kael shouted, twisting his body mid-strike to sweep her legs from under her with a wall of rising shadow.
"You're a mistake," she hissed. "Born from a traitor and a ghost."
"I'm not alone!" Kael countered, stabbing his glaive forward. Pyrope twisted, but the tip grazed her side—her armor cracked.
Below them, Ignivite led a blazing charge, scattering Pyrope's elites with twin whips of plasma fire.
Shadelace descended like a raven, slicing through Gem-constructs and siphoning their corrupted energy into the Cathedral's defenses.
And in the thick of the chaos, Connie moved like water and lightning.
Connie and Kael: Shadows and Steel
Their backs touched for just a moment.
Kael was breathing hard, sweat on his brow. Connie held a defensive stance at his side, sword glowing faintly purple—Kael's shadow essence had begun to merge with it naturally.
"You okay?" she asked.
"Little tired. Definitely annoyed," he panted.
Connie chuckled. "You always get sarcastic when you're overwhelmed."
Kael blinked. "You noticed?"
"Yeah." She turned toward him slightly. "I notice a lot of things about you."
Time seemed to slow for a heartbeat.
Around them, the battle paused—just for a second. Just long enough for Kael to see it in her eyes: respect, trust, and something softer.
Something more.
Then she turned, sliced a charging construct in half, and shouted, "Come on, Monarch. You promised me dinner after this."
Kael smirked.
"I did?"
"You will."
Twin Thrones
Pyrope fell back, wings damaged, blood on her lip. She landed near the crater she'd made—her army in full retreat now as Obsidian Court and Gemfire warriors overwhelmed them.
Kael landed before her, shadows rising behind him like sentinels. Ignivite descended on the opposite side—her fire boiling the air.
"You were wrong," Kael said. "You thought there was only one throne."
Ignivite ignited her twin blades.
"We stand together. Flame and shadow."
"Obsidian and Gemfire."
Kael stepped closer. "And we are done with tyrants like you."
Pyrope screamed and launched herself in one last, desperate attack.
Kael caught her halberd in one hand—his glaive locked with it. The force of it pushed him back slightly.
Ignivite's flame surged over his shoulder, searing Pyrope's blade.
Connie leapt between them, slashing downward—breaking the halberd in two.
Pyrope collapsed, eyes wide in disbelief. "You... you're nothing but children…"
Kael leaned in close. "And still, we beat you."
Aftermath: The Promise of Light
The battlefield lay quiet.
The wounded were treated, the fallen constructs deactivated. Kael stood at the summit of the Cathedral, watching as the last warp-flare vanished into the atmosphere. Pyrope's remnants were gone.
Steven stood beside him. "You didn't kill her."
"She'll live," Kael said. "And that'll be punishment enough."
Connie joined them. "What now?"
Kael turned to her, smiling. "Now? We rebuild."
She raised an eyebrow. "That all?"
Kael hesitated for just a second—then stepped closer.
"No. Not all." He took a breath. "I've seen shadows and monsters. I've faced the past and all its weight. But when I fight, when I bleed, when I build this court... I keep thinking about you."
Connie blinked. "Me?"
"You've been there through all of it. And every time I felt like I might lose myself, you reminded me I'm not alone."
He reached out, gently took her hand.
"I don't know what the future looks like. But I want to find out—with you."
Connie squeezed his hand. "Then I guess I'll hold you to that dinner."
They smiled.
And above them, the stars blinked awake—watching the boy born of shadow, and the girl who gave him light.
Together.