Chapter 40: The Snap of Eternity
The universe ripped apart in an explosion of light, sound, and chaos. Tara felt the world around her fracture, felt reality itself twist and snap like a broken thread. For a moment, there was nothing—no ground beneath her feet, no air in her lungs. Only the sensation of existing, of being caught between infinite possibilities.
Then, just as quickly as it had begun, the world reset.
Tara gasped as she felt the solid ground return beneath her. She blinked, her eyes adjusting to the soft glow of a familiar place—a place that felt like a dream.
They were no longer in the fractured void. They stood in the Vale.
The Forgotten Vale, the place where everything had begun.
It was peaceful here. The ruins of ancient stone pillars stretched toward a bright, unblemished sky. The air was still, carrying the scent of earth and time, as if the very land itself had been untouched by the corruption of the gods' games.
Tara turned to look at her companions. They were just as disoriented as she was, but they were standing tall.
Kael wiped his brow, his sharp eyes scanning their surroundings. "Is this it? Have we won?"
Emrick's voice was uncertain. "I don't trust this. It feels too quiet. Too... peaceful."
But Tara felt something else. It wasn't peace. It was a new beginning.
"Ludicar," she whispered.
Behind them, Ludicar stood, his mask now shattered completely. He was no longer the god of jokes, no longer the trickster who had bent reality with a snap of his fingers. He was something else now—a man, tired and worn, his eyes empty but not without a spark of something human.
He was no longer the puppet-master. He was no longer the jester. He was simply a soul, standing in the ruins of a world that had no more games to play.
For the first time in what felt like an eternity, he spoke without the mocking tone. Without the twisted humor.
"It's over."
Tara didn't know whether to feel relieved or fearful. The stillness in the air felt like a fragile thing. Could they trust him? Could they trust that everything, all the pain, the sacrifice, had led to this moment?
Ludicar's eyes met hers, and for the first time, she saw something like sincerity in them.
"I had no choice," he said quietly. "I was made to be what I was. A joke. A game. I was never meant to feel the weight of what I was doing… but after you broke the cycle…" His voice trailed off. "I saw it. For the first time, I saw truth."
Tara took a deep breath. "So, what now? What happens to us?"
Ludicar seemed to consider this for a long moment. "Now? Now, you are free." He raised his hand, and with a simple gesture, the air shimmered around them. The ground beneath them hummed with a soft, ancient power.
The first seal was restored. Not by gods or ancient forces—but by choice. By Ludicar's choice to break the cycle, to free the world from the eternal joke he had been forced to play.
Tara could feel the power surging through the land, the ancient magic returning to its rightful place. The First was locked away once again—not by brute force, not by sacrifice—but by the simple act of ending the game.
Kael stepped forward, a sharp edge still in his voice. "You're free now, Ludicar. But what happens to us? What happens to the world?"
Ludicar's maskless face softened, though the remnants of his grin still lingered. "The world will continue. It will heal. You have earned your place in it, just as much as any god. As for you…" He glanced at Tara, then Emrick, then Kael. "You're not like the others. You didn't play by the rules. You made your own."
Tara felt a wave of exhaustion wash over her, but there was a quiet, growing warmth in her chest. She had no idea what tomorrow would bring, but for the first time in a long time, she didn't need to know.
"You're free," Ludicar said again. "All of you. The rest… is up to you."
And with that, he disappeared.
No more tricks. No more games. Just a silence that was genuine—as real as the world around them.
Tara stood there for a long time, letting the stillness settle into her bones. There would be no more fighting. No more chasing answers. No more endless trials.
The world was not perfect. But it was theirs now.
A world of choices. Of freedom. Of life.
And for the first time, Tara smiled—genuinely—because she finally realized that, in the end, the true power wasn't in the gods, the seals, or the wars.
It was in the stories they chose to tell.