The battlefield was no longer a room—it was a vortex. The Beacon chamber had collapsed into a storm of ruptured space, spinning fragments of walls and glowing shards of timeline glass. The ground beneath Aeris, Kael, and their enemies twisted like a breathing organism, its surface rippling with unstable matter. Time bled from the edges, and with every second that passed, reality unraveled further.
Aeris ducked as a bolt of chrono-fire ripped past her head, leaving behind a trail of flickering futures. Her blade met Carth's once again, the clash ringing out with the sound of clashing centuries. Each swing of his axe left scars not just in the air—but in the timeline itself.
"Do you feel it breaking?" he growled. "This is what truth costs!"
Kael fought at her flank, his pulseblade humming in resonance with the Beacon's chaotic energy. Velis moved like a specter, whispering illusions into his mind—images of Aeris turning against him, of Dray as a savior, of himself alone in a void of failed choices. He grit his teeth and pushed forward, slashing through the visions.
"You can't twist me anymore," he snarled. "I choose who I am."
From the center of the chaos, Dray watched. His cloak of shadow and light billowed unnaturally, untouched by the storm. Around him, the trio of timeline saboteurs—Carth, Velis, and the silent third, Nyros—formed a perfect trine, channeling entropy into the heart of the Beacon.
Aeris lunged, her blade a streak of vengeance. She aimed straight for Dray—but Nyros intercepted her with a burst of blue flame, his hands igniting with the power of decayed futures. Aeris crashed to the ground, skidding across fractured timeglass.
Dray stepped closer.
"You remember too much, Aeris. That's your weakness now."
She pulled herself up, blood on her lip, defiance in her eyes. "No. I remember who you were. And who you chose to become."
The room twisted again. The Beacon's pulse flared, brighter than a star, and then—
Silence.
Time halted.
The storm froze mid-roar, lightning stalled in the sky, weapons suspended mid-strike. In the absolute stillness, only one thing moved:
A child.
Barefoot, eyes glowing with the light of a thousand timelines, the child walked through the suspended battlefield, unbothered by chaos. Aeris gasped.
"It can't be..."
Kael's voice trembled. "Is that…?"
The child stopped between them. "You've broken it," they said simply, their voice echoing with layered tones—young and old, male and female, future and past. "The Beacon has no anchor now. And you've summoned me."
Dray flinched. For the first time, he looked unsure.
"What are you?" he asked.
The child turned their eyes to him. "I am the consequence."
The chamber fractured one final time—and the world exploded in white.