The rift of balanced light and shadow closed behind Ryan and the True Balances with a hum that resonated through their bones, depositing them in a realm unlike any they'd known. It was the "Eternal Plane"— a space where time folded in on itself, where past, present, and future coexisted, and where the merged energy of design and unmaking hummed in every particle of existence. The sky was a tapestry of multiverses, each a glowing thread woven into a single, endless pattern. The ground beneath their feet was solid yet shifting, made of the same balanced energy that now flowed through Ryan's veins— the annihilation mark on his chest had merged with the dark thread from the Heart of the Design, creating a new symbol: a circle split evenly between light and shadow, creation and unmaking.
Lila gripped Ryan's arm, her eyes wide with wonder and fear. The other True Balances— the scholar, the soldier, the healer— stood close, their faint glows of residual power pulsing in sync with the plane's energy. "Where are we?" the scholar asked, her voice trembling.
"The Eternal Plane," the Void God's voice said, soft but clear in Ryan's mind. "The space beyond design and unmaking— the realm where the true creator of the flaw resides. The one who wove the Void of Unmaking into the First One's design."
Ryan's heart ached as the familiar voice echoed through the plane, growing louder, more distinct. It was his father's voice— not the vague memory of a man who died in a slum fire, but a clear, commanding tone, layered with the resonance of cosmic power. "Ryan," it said, and a figure stepped from the shadows at the plane's center.
He was a man who looked like Ryan— same dark hair, same scar on the left cheek, same build— but aged, his eyes glowing with the same balanced light and shadow as the Eternal Plane. His clothes were a mix of slum rags and cosmic armor, and in his hand, he held a sword identical to Ryan's Sword of True Balance, but its blade was split: one side gold-purple (design), the other black (unmaking). This was Elias Harris— Ryan's father, the man who'd supposedly died in the fire, the man who'd woven the flaw into the First One's design.
Ryan froze, his breath catching. All his life, he'd grieved the father he'd lost, the man who'd tried to protect him from the greedy landlord, the man who'd whispered "balance is choice" before the fire consumed their home. But this was not the man he remembered— this was a being of cosmic power, a weaver of the design, a manipulator of the Void of Unmaking.
"Dad?" Ryan whispered, his voice cracking.
Elias smiled, but it was not a warm smile— it was a smile of pride, of satisfaction, of a plan coming to fruition. "Hello, son. I've been waiting for this moment— for you to become True Balance, for you to merge design and unmaking, for you to join me in the Eternal Plane."
The True Balances tensed, their residual power flaring, but Elias raised a hand, and the plane's energy stilled them, holding them in place. "Do not fear me. I am not the enemy. I am the balance you've been fighting to protect— the balance between existence and non-existence, between control and choice."
Ryan stepped forward, his sword glowing with balanced energy, his anger overriding his grief. "You faked your death. You left me in the slums. You gave me the Cashback System— not as a gift, but as a tool to activate the flaw. You manipulated every step of my journey."
Elias nodded, his smile fading to a look of solemnity. "I did. The fire was not an accident— it was a cover. The landlord was a pawn of the Luminari, who'd discovered my plan to merge design and unmaking. I faked my death to protect you, to let you grow in the slums, to learn the value of choice— the one thing the First One forgot in its design."
Ryan's mind reeled. "The First One forgot choice? It created the True Balances to choose balance over fear."
"The First One created the True Balances to enforce balance," Elias said, his voice rising with passion. "It saw the Void of Unmaking as a flaw, a mistake to be sealed. But the Void of Unmaking is not a flaw— it is the other half of balance. Without unmaking, creation is stagnant. Without destruction, growth is impossible. The First One's design was a cage— and I wove the flaw to break it."
He gestured to the tapestry of multiverses in the sky. "Look at them. The multiverses the First One deemed 'perfect' are dying— stagnant, no growth, no change. The ones touched by the Void of Unmaking are thriving— evolving, adapting, choosing their own paths. The Luminari feared the void, the Outsiders feared chaos, the First One feared imperfection— but fear is the real enemy of balance."
Elias stepped closer, his sword lowering. "I gave you the Cashback System because it is the purest form of choice— you rebate what you put in, you reap what you choose to sow. It taught you that balance is not about perfection, but about action. About choosing to fight for what's right, even when it's hard. About choosing to merge light and dark, creation and unmaking, instead of sealing one away."
Lila's voice cut through the tension, her loyalty energy breaking free of the plane's hold. "If you're not the enemy, why manipulate Ryan? Why let him suffer?"
Elias turned to her, his eyes softening. "Because suffering teaches choice. Ryan could have used the Cashback System to become a tyrant, to take what he wanted without consequence. But he chose kindness. He chose loyalty. He chose to protect others instead of dominating them. That is the eternal balance— choice, not control."
The Void God's voice echoed in Ryan's mind, now filled with understanding. "He speaks the truth. I was sealed by the First One for wanting to merge void and light, for wanting choice over stagnation. Elias freed me, in part— he wove my essence into your bloodline, so you could be the bridge between design and unmaking."
Ryan lowered his sword, his anger fading to confusion. "What do you want from me, Dad? To rule the Eternal Plane with you? To merge all multiverses into one?"
Elias shook his head, stepping back, his sword vanishing into the plane's energy. "I want nothing from you. I want you to choose. The First One's design is broken, the Void of Unmaking is sealed but not gone, the Outsiders are defeated but not destroyed. The eternal balance is not something I can enforce— it's something you and the True Balances must nurture. Choose to let the multiverses evolve, to let choice guide them. Choose to be the guardian of the eternal balance, not its ruler."
He held out his hand, and a small, crystal orb appeared— the core of the Cashback System, the original thread that wove the flaw into the First One's design. "This is yours. It is the thread of choice, the heart of the eternal balance. With it, you can guide the multiverses, protect them from those who would seek control, but never dictate their paths. It is the final gift I can give you— the gift of choosing your own destiny."
Ryan stared at the orb, his mind racing. All his life, he'd been guided by the system, by his bloodline, by the First One, by Elias. Now, he had the chance to choose— to return to his multiverse, to stay in the Eternal Plane, to guide the True Balances, to walk away from it all.
The True Balances broke free of the plane's hold, gathering around him. "We'll follow you," Lila said, her loyalty energy glowing bright. "Whatever you choose."
Ryan picked up the orb, its energy merging with his own, with the Thread of Design, with the Void of Unmaking. He felt the weight of the multiverses on his shoulders, the weight of his father's legacy, the weight of his own journey from slum kid to True Balance. But he also felt freedom— the freedom to choose.
"I choose to protect," he said, his voice steady, his eyes glowing with eternal balance. "Not to rule, not to seal, not to enforce. To protect choice, to nurture balance, to let the multiverses evolve. I choose to return to my multiverse, to be with Marcus and Jake and Elder Kael, but to also guide the True Balances, to be the bridge between the Eternal Plane and the void between worlds."
Elias smiled, a genuine smile this time, filled with pride. "That is the eternal balance. That is the choice I hoped you'd make."
He stepped forward, placing a hand on Ryan's shoulder, and his energy merged with Ryan's, passing on the last of his power— the knowledge of the eternal balance, the ability to travel between the Eternal Plane and any multiverse, the wisdom to guide without controlling. "Go, son. Be the balance the multiverses need. And remember— balance is not a destination. It is a choice, made every day."
As Elias's form dissolved into the plane's energy, the tapestry of multiverses shifted, opening a portal to Ryan's home multiverse. The True Balances cheered, and Lila clapped Ryan on the back. "Let's go home," she said.
Ryan nodded, gripping the crystal orb, and stepped toward the portal. But as he did, the plane's energy rippled, and a faint, dark pulse echoed through the Eternal Plane— a pulse from the Void of Unmaking, not corrupted, but awake, calling to something beyond the eternal balance.
The Void God's voice sounded, urgent once more. "It's the 'Eternal Unmaker'— the purest form of unmaking, the counterpart to the First One. It was sealed by Elias when he wove the flaw, but your choice to merge design and unmaking has woken it. It seeks to erase the eternal balance, to return everything to nothingness."
Ryan turned, staring into the plane's shadows, where a figure was forming— a being of pure unmaking, its form a void that absorbed all light, its eyes glowing with the same dark thread that now pulsed in Ryan's chest. The Eternal Unmaker's voice was a void, a silence that spoke volumes: "Choice is weakness. Balance is a lie. Only unmaking is eternal."
The True Balances tensed, their residual power flaring, but Ryan held up a hand, his crystal orb glowing with eternal balance energy. "You are unmaking. I am balance. And balance includes you— but not at the cost of choice. You cannot erase what we've built."
The Eternal Unmaker lunged, its void energy sweeping toward Ryan, threatening to erase him, the True Balances, the Eternal Plane itself. Ryan channeled the crystal orb's energy, merging design and unmaking into a shield that repelled the void energy. The Unmaker screamed, a soundless wail that shook the plane, and retreated into the shadows, but not before whispering: "I will return. Choice will fail. Unmaking will prevail."
Ryan stared into the shadows, his heart heavy but his resolve firm. The eternal balance was not safe— the Eternal Unmaker was awake, and it would not rest until it erased all choice, all balance, all existence.
The portal to his home multiverse glowed brighter, and Lila touched his arm. "We have to go. We can fight the Unmaker, but not here, not now."
Ryan nodded, glancing back at the shadows where the Unmaker had vanished. "It will return. But when it does, we'll be ready. We'll fight for choice, for balance, for the eternal design."
He stepped through the portal, the True Balances following close behind, the crystal orb pulsing in his hand. The portal closed behind them, leaving the Eternal Plane quiet, the tapestry of multiverses still glowing, but the shadow of the Eternal Unmaker lingering, a reminder that the fight for balance was never truly over.
Ryan emerged back on the bridge of the "Balance's Dawn," to the cheers of Marcus, Jake, Elder Kael, and the allied fleet. The multiverse was safe, the Outsiders were gone, the balance was restored— but Ryan knew the truth. The eternal balance was fragile, the Eternal Unmaker was a threat, and his journey was far from over.
Marcus clapped him on the back, grinning. "Welcome home, Ryan. We knew you'd come back."
Ryan smiled, holding up the crystal orb, its light reflecting in his eyes. "I'm home. But there's more work to do. The multiverse is safe, but the eternal balance needs guardians. And I need your help."
Jake nodded, his energy flaring with renewed purpose. "We're with you. Always."
As the allied fleet cheered, Ryan stared out the viewport at the stars, at the tapestry of multiverses beyond, at the Eternal Plane he now called home. The crystal orb pulsed in his hand, the dark thread of unmaking humming in his chest, the Cashback System's hum now a part of the eternal balance.
The Eternal Unmaker would return. The fight for choice would continue. But Ryan Harris— slum kid, True Balance, heir of design and unmaking, son of Elias Harris— was ready.
Because balance was not a destination. It was a choice. And he chose to fight.
And somewhere in the depths of the Eternal Plane, the Eternal Unmaker waited, its void energy growing stronger, its resolve unyielding. The final battle for the eternal balance was coming— and when it arrived, Ryan would face it not alone, but with the True Balances, with his friends, with the power of choice and balance at his side.
But for now, he was home. And home was where the fight began.