The power flowing from the disc was overwhelming.
Kael felt his mind expand, reaching into places that had never existed before.
He no longer saw time as a line…
but as a living organism, pulsing in every direction.
---
The entity advanced.
Now, it spoke directly into Kael's mind:
— The sealing will destroy you.
You will become the prison.
As she did.
Kael closed his eyes.
And for the first time, he understood the cost.
Arkana had not died.
She had been fused with the very barrier that held the being at bay.
And now, the same awaited him.
---
But something had changed.
With Arkana's knowledge, Kael saw an alternative.
He didn't need to sacrifice himself.
Not entirely.
He could use the echoes of alternate timelines,
temporal mirrors branching with every choice not taken.
He gathered his energy.
Formed the seals with gestures inherited from her.
And in the final moment…
He split the entity's essence across four different eras.
—
Light consumed the chamber.
Time shuddered.
And the pillar sealed itself once more.
The Arkana Code had been fulfilled.
Kael collapsed to his knees.
Alive.
Exhausted.
But whole.
For now.