For the first time in years, the air over Solaryn was not heavy with smoke or blood. The flames of war had finally died, leaving only ashes, stone, and the soft hum of rebuilding.
From the high spire of Cythera Fortress, I watched the city come alive again. Once a heart of rebellion and cold machinery, the fortress now glowed with warm light as workers rebuilt walls, repainted banners, and cleared debris. The golden phoenix—the mark of Solaryn—rose again, fluttering against the wind.
Valtryn stood beside me, her armour removed and her hair loose for the first time since the siege. "We'll have the outer districts ready within a month," she said. "The people are already waiting to plant the new crops."
Her voice carried both strength and exhaustion—a general who had given all and still stood tall.
Morvessa was quieter, watching the soldiers distribute healing tonics she'd made from her poison arts. "They still look at me with fear," she said softly. "But at least they take the cure."
I smiled faintly. "Fear fades fast when kindness lasts."
Morvessa only gave me a thin, almost amused smile. "Kindness is a slower poison, Mukul. But perhaps it's the only one that saves nations."
Below us, construction crews worked side by side with former rebels. Families who had once fled now returned to rebuild their homes. The Empress Sisters oversaw everything: Valtryn organising the city's new guard corps and Morvessa reforming the intelligence network to root out corruption at its roots.
They turned chaos into structure.
Across the empire, the same pattern emerged. The widows who had fought beside us took administrative posts and training roles. The once-divided generals swore loyalty not from fear but pride. The provinces that had rebelled were quiet now, repaired through understanding rather than wrath.
Lian Xueyi led the reconstruction of the magical academies, ensuring education reached even the lower classes. Yue Xiang rebuilt the air networks for trade and travel. Lei Mira commanded the frontier armies, promising no invader would cross Solaryn again.
Faith sat by the wounded each day, lending divine miracle and comfort in equal measure.
And yet... even as the empire thrived, I could see something still missing—an emptiness between our world and the others I had glimpsed before.
That evening, a council gathered in the new Cythera Hall.
The great table of marble, once a symbol of corruption, had been reforged and purified. Around it sat the pillars of Solaryn's new era: generals, healers, scholars, and empresses.
Valtryn presided over military reports. "Rebellion crushed. Borders secure. Military losses offset by recruits from liberated provinces."
Morvessa added coolly, "The last of the old council's agents have been neutralised. A few fled into the outer void, but their influence is gone."
Faith smiled softly. "Then peace truly returns at last."
But Luna tilted her head from where she leaned against the wall. "Peace, yes—but temporary."
I turned toward her. "You feel it too?"
She nodded slowly. "The other worlds are stirring. When you shattered the Dark Root, its ripples didn't just stop here. You've awakened something beyond the Rift."
Everyone grew silent.
Morvessa's gaze sharpened. "Parallel realms. Old powers. You always planned to unify them, didn't you, Mukul?"
I took a slow breath. "That was the mission I began long ago—the one no one else knew. To bridge all worlds under a single light."
Valtryn frowned, her voice careful. "You've just rebuilt this empire from ruin. Would you risk it all again so soon?"
"I wouldn't call it risk," I said. "I call it destiny."
Faith stepped forward, eyes glowing like dawn. "Unity doesn't come from conquest, only from understanding. Can you promise that?"
I met her gaze. "I can. I've seen what separation brings—worlds tearing each other apart in silence. Helmor's madness grew because our borders turned into cages. I won't let it happen again."
Morvessa crossed her arms, studying me. "You speak like a visionary—or a fool. Either way, you'll need every one of us if you want to pull this off."
"I know," I said. "You're not just my generals. You're my heart's anchors. Every world will need a different flame. I'll need yours."
When the meeting ended, I walked out onto the terrace overlooking Cythera. The air was clearer than ever, smelling of earth and rebirth. The sun hung low, coating the towers in gold.
Valtryn joined me, placing a hand on her sword hilt. "So this is the calm before the next storm?"
"Maybe," I said. "But at least this time, it's a storm I choose."
She nodded, smiling faintly. "Then perhaps the brothers and sisters of war might finally see peace worth fighting for."
Morvessa approached next, cloak fluttering softly. "If you plan to unite worlds, start by healing this one fully. Every scar should shine, not hide."
"You'll make sure it does," I replied.
That night, under the twin moons, I called an open assembly in Cythera's central square. Thousands gathered—workers, soldiers, citizens, widows, and children. Their faces, once dull with fear, now glowed with the reflection of golden flame.
I raised my hand, and silence fell.
"Today, Solaryn stands not by chains, but by choice," I said. "The war is over. The rebellion has ended. But unity... true unity... is still beyond our gates."
The crowd listened, breathless.
"I do not seek to rule other worlds," I continued. "I seek to connect them—to end the pain of distance, the blindness that makes us enemies when we could be kin. No world should burn alone."
The wind carried my words far into the horizon.
"I declare the beginning of world unification."
The golden phoenix banners rippled in answer. Flames rose from the square's braziers, turning silver and then blue—the mark of divine promise.
Faith's light joined it, Valtryn's flame flared beside mine, and Morvessa's green aura seeped into the air like life reborn from death.
Together, their energies painted the sky with radiance no painter could ever capture.
For the first time since creation, the empire's oath was not born in battle—it was born in hope.
And as I looked out over the city of Cythera, I thought of the many worlds waiting beyond the Rift.
"They'll come," Luna whispered beside me. "All of them will come."
I smiled quietly. "Then let them. We'll be ready—united, not as conquerors, but as one flame shared by endless skies."