The silence in the ruined chamber was absolute.
Selene felt the weight of her choice settle over her like a storm cloud. The Celestial Flame burned within her, no longer just a force to be wielded but a part of her very soul. And yet, standing before Darius—the Warden of the Abyss—she knew the truth.
This power came at a cost.
Darius's void-like eyes held no urgency, no desperation. He was not here to beg or demand. He was here to offer a single moment of choice before the world changed forever.
"Surrender the power," he said again, his voice smooth as silk but heavy with finality. "And the Balance will be restored."
Lucian stood rigid beside her, his sword still drawn, his silver eyes burning with defiance. "And if she doesn't?"
Darius smiled faintly. "Then the world will burn."
The words sent a chill racing through Selene's veins. Not because she feared them, but because—deep down—she knew they were true.
But she also knew something else.
The Celestial Flame had chosen her. It was bound to her by something greater than fate.
And she would not give it up.
Selene took a deep breath, her heart steady.
"No."
The air stilled.
Darius regarded her carefully, his head tilting just slightly. "No?"
Selene lifted her chin. "I will not surrender the Celestial Flame. Whatever price comes with it, I will bear it."
Lucian's lips curved slightly at the edges, a silent show of approval.
Valerian, on the other hand, exhaled sharply. "Selene, think about what you're saying—"
"I have." Her golden fire flared around her fingers, casting shadows against the broken walls. "This power was never meant to be locked away. It was meant to be used. And I will not let fear decide my fate."
For a long moment, Darius said nothing.
And then—
He laughed.
Low and dark, a sound that sent a ripple through the air.
"You truly are a fool."
A gust of wind slammed through the chamber, and the torches flickered wildly, their flames twisting into unearthly shapes.
The world seemed to shift, as though reality itself had just fractured.
And then—
Darius's void-dark cloak began to unravel, the fabric peeling away into swirling tendrils of shadow. His body shimmered between worlds, as if he were not fully present in this realm.
His voice, when he spoke again, was everywhere and nowhere.
"So be it."
A pulse of darkness exploded from his form.
Selene barely had time to react before the castle itself began to shake.
The skies outside split open, the clouds twisting into unnatural spirals. The very air became heavier, charged with a power that was not of this world.
Lucian grabbed Selene's arm, his voice sharp. "We need to move."
Darius's blackened gaze met hers one final time. "You have chosen, Celestial Flame. Now you must face the consequences."
And then—
He was gone.
But the world did not settle.
Instead, it began to fall apart.
The floor beneath them fractured, deep veins of darkness splitting through the stone like cracks in glass.
Outside, the wind howled like a living thing, and in the far distance—beyond the mountains, beyond the storm—something stirred.
Something immense.
Something waiting.
Valerian swore under his breath. "You just declared war on the Abyss."
Selene turned to him, fire flickering in her golden eyes. "No." She clenched her fists, her flames burning brighter than ever before.
"I just declared war on anyone who thinks they can control me."
End of Chapter Forty-Two