The moon shone dimly over the Refuge, as if afraid of what now lingered beneath it.
Whisperglass was gone—but another god had entered this realm.
One with no form.
No scent.
No sound.
Only the feeling of forgetting.
Letheborn Arrives
It began subtly.
Selari forgot her own name mid-sentence.
Miko found her sword in her hands but couldn't remember why she had drawn it.
Even Diana, strong as ever, suddenly paused during training, eyes narrowing.
"Where is Hope?" she asked aloud, though the girl had been right beside her just moments before.
Theonix stirred in his chamber.
"He's here," he growled.
"Letheborn."
The Unraveling
Letheborn moved like mist—creeping through memories, slipping past senses. No alarms. No magic could detect him. He was forgetting.
Zatanna lit candles across the Refuge, murmuring memory-binding spells in forgotten tongues. Runes flared on the walls.
Sarive stayed close to Hope, holding her hand as her breathing quickened.
"I'm scared," she whispered. "I… I don't remember what scared me…"
Sarive looked into her eyes. "It's okay. I remember. That's enough for both of us."
Behind them, shadows stirred.
Letheborn was already inside.
Diana's Confrontation
Diana stood watch outside Hope's chamber.
Suddenly, the torches extinguished.
Silence fell.
And a voice slid across the air like ice over stone.
"What is a warrior… who forgets who she's fighting for?"
She turned. And saw… no one.
Then, she looked at her reflection in her blade—and saw herself dying, again and again.
In Sarive's arms.
In Theonix's.
Alone.
Letheborn's voice echoed again.
"Memories are chains. Let me free you…"
She gritted her teeth.
"No."
She thrust her sword forward—and it sank into shadow, screeching. The fog around her burned.
Letheborn shrieked—and retreated into the walls.
For now.
Theonix Speaks
Later, in the inner sanctum, Theonix summoned them all.
Even weakened, his presence dimmed the lights.
He opened his palm.
A small crystal hovered—glowing white, pulsing slowly like a heart.
"The Prism," he said. "What the gods call the Energy of Gods. But they're wrong."
Hope leaned forward.
"This isn't energy," Theonix said. "It's a shard of something older. A god that predates pantheons. Something we tried to destroy… and failed."
Diana's voice tightened. "You said it was sealed."
"It was," Theonix replied. "Until it chose a vessel."
He looked at Hope.
"You."
The Shard of Oravon
The name dropped like thunder.
Sarive frowned. "Oravon?"
Zatanna whispered, "That name's erased in every grimoire. Not sealed. Erased."
Theonix nodded. "Because Oravon was the only god who could redefine existence. A creator of realities, not worlds. The gods feared him. So they destroyed his body."
Sarive narrowed his eyes. "And sealed the rest inside a child."
"Not sealed," Theonix said softly. "Born. Hope was born with it. No curse. No magic. Just… destiny."
Hope looked down at her hands. "Am I evil?"
Diana knelt beside her. "No. You are more than they expected. That frightens them."
Memory War
As Letheborn grew stronger, cracks began to form in the Refuge's timeline.
Miko lost three days.
Zatanna forgot her own father's name.
Sarive began having flashes of himself in a world made only of glass, where Diana didn't know him.
Selari constructed a Memory Anchor, a device woven from soul-threads and golden steel.
But Letheborn came for it that night.
Sarive stood in his way.
Infinity Again
"Don't," Diana warned him. "You used it too recently. The Infinity state is tearing you apart."
"I can't beat Letheborn without it."
"Then we fight smart, not louder."
But it was too late.
Sarive activated Infinity.
The air howled. His body lit gold again. His heartbeat echoed in time itself.
Letheborn lashed forward, striking at Sarive's thoughts.
But this time, Sarive struck back—not with memory, but purpose.
"I don't need to remember why I protect her," Sarive said, "I just do."
His fist connected.
Letheborn shattered like glass.
But the cost…
Sarive dropped to his knees, eyes flickering.
The Price of Power
As the dust settled, Diana caught Sarive in her arms.
His skin was hot. His eyes dimmed. He gasped.
"Diana…"
"I'm here."
He smiled faintly.
"Don't let me stay like this too long. Or… I'll become something else."
Hope ran to his side.
"I'll fix you," she whispered. "I'll find a way."
But behind her…
The broken mirror from Whisperglass still glowed faintly.
And inside it… a new shadow watched.