The dust settled. The echo of collapsing stone faded. And then... silence ensued.
Lucian stood in the center of the shattered tomb, surrounded by the four people who had just walked through history with him. The Vault has disappeared together with the Emberfang, There was no Shocher in sight, Just bodies and bones of a past burnt away.
He reached out, expecting to feel the blade's weight,only empty air greeted his hand.
Rhen came over, resting her hand gently on his shoulder. "You did it."
Lucian exhaled slowly. "I gave it away."
Kia touched the spot on Lucian's back where the hilt had rested. "You saved us all."
Jace helped steady him. "Let's find a way out before the whole thing caves in."
They left the tomb as one, moving slowly up the cracked corridor toward the exit. Every sound was muffled, every step deliberate.
Outside, the sky was bruised purple, evening taking its place. The campfire's glow showed four weary but relieved faces.
Marinette sat by the fire her expression was fragile. All these incidents had cost her too, she looked inward, lost in thought.
Lucian sat across from her. He thought about the paths he'd walked,the dark voice, his mother's warning, Kia's sudden revelation, and the moment he chose to cast the Emberfang away. He still felt pain about the lost legacy, abandoned destiny. But also something he hadn't felt in a long time; control.
For the next few hours, they made plans. Jace scavenged what remained of the area.
Rhen and Marinette scouted boundaries.
Kia and Lucian spoke quietly. Sometimes about the mission. Sometimes about nothing. Lucian asked Kia, "What about you?"
Kia met his gaze. "I'm not a watcher anymore. I'm not tied to any old magic. But I still have purpose." He paused. "I'll stay with you. Whatever comes next." Lucian nodded. "Good."
Later, as the fire burned low, Lucian found Rhen staring into the flames. She brought two data-cubes forward they were Lucian's mother, Sira personal journals and family logs. "Your mother left messages," Rhen said softly. "One for you. One for the world."
Lucian swallowed. He inserted the cube and leaned in. A hologram flickered to life.
Sira appeared again. Her face was steady, pale as ever, eyes filled with sorrow and strength. "Lucian. If you are watching this… then the Vault has been broken. You have made the only choice there was."
Lucian's throat clenched. Sira continued "My son, my heart. You were born both from blood and from hope. We built and carried a curse. We sacrificed everything: homes, people, centuries, to live in fear of what we contained."
Lucian's arms tightened around his knees. "But fear fades. The Emberfang was never about power. It was about choice." She paused, emotion creeping in.
"Give up the blade and reclaim who you are. A boy, a friend, a brother, aprotector, not a god or a vessel." She touched the symbol of the Vault etched into the pedestal.
"I cast a piece of my soul into the Emberfang to hold Vel'Kar back. But that soul wasn't strong enough to bind him forever. It needed you. That's why I gave birth to you to raise someone who could choose to let go."
Lucian's brow furrowed He wanted to ask questions. "It doesn't matter what they want from you. What matters is what you want. Who you choose to be. You aren't a weapon. You're still human. And even without the Emberfang, you're stronger than any weapon they could forge."
Sira's image wavered, smile soft. "Live again, my son. Burn brighter than flame. I'll always be with you."
Her figure faded. The silence afterward held their truth. Lucian rose, voice cracking. "She gave me strength. She gave me... hope."
Rhen stepped forward. "She gave all of us hope." Kia placed a hand on Lucian's. "Then let's live it."
The next morning, they walked out of the ruins. The world felt different,uncertain, but free. They rebuilt parts of the camp, resting, tending to wounds, planning next moves. Jace would investigate the Shocher's command links. Rhen would guide them through old Solvahr routes. Kia would scout and protect. Marinette would track Veyne. And Lucian would find a life outside prophecy or whatever legacy. He also had plans of finishing everything quickly and going back to his simple life he has lived at a
Arvendale, going back to school and also resume his work at the cafeteria though that's if he has not been replaced already.
But beneath the hopeful calm, a secret simmered. Lucian had seen it at the tomb's entrance: a figure carved bronzed into the wall a silhouette that matched someone tall and broad. Marinette.
He watched her at night she seem a little too quiet,too distant as well it made him wonder "Was she trusting them? Or waiting?" He believed in her for now though but Soon, they would find out. He thought. But he wasn't going to let her catch off guard.
He planned with Jace to get to know what she actually wanted. Jace was hesitant at first he has never liked that woman but he still agreed. He made her trust him.
Then one morning Jace and Marinette were gone Kia panicked but Lucian just smiled everything is going as he planned.He is not so naived anymore and he is not going to trust anyone blindly not even Kia nor Jace as it seems everyone has just been planted in his life but he's going to stay cool as long as they are not going bring him harm but if they are he will burn everything to the ground. Vel'kar is still in him and he knows it.
For now the game has just began.