A searing burst of white light engulfed all. The raw power of the Nexus Gate's destruction propelled Asher's perceptions into chaos. For an instant, a frozen instant of raw terror, he hung in transit, suspended between worlds, lost, and helpless before the raw power shattering reality.
Then, abruptly—
Impact.
Asher's body crashed into an invisible wall, his breath torn from his chest as he fell through the endless nothing. He clenched his teeth, attempting to get his balance back, but there was no heaven, no earth—only an endless sea of moving light and shadow, a world that existed beyond time.
He wasn't alone.
A form drifted before him, wreathed in shining golden fire, their shape divine and shattered. The High Architect. Their injuries still oozed golden ichor, but the victory was still marked on their face.
"Welcome to the Nexus Veil," they declared, voice echoing through the infinite space. "The portal between worlds."
Asher's hands clenched, shadowflames stroking his skin. "What have you done?
The Architect smiled. "Just as needed. The old will yield. In will come the new. And you—" their eyes blazed more intensely, "you will be found nowhere."
The abyss quivered. The fabric of this reality quivered, extending beyond its very bounds, beyond what nature forbade it. The Nexus was breaking apart—and taking both of them crashing with it.
There wasn't time to use words. Time to simply react.
Asher leapt forward, a blur of blackness behind him. His fist struck the Architect's shield, golden sparks bursting across the empty air. But he couldn't strike again, a burst of holy energy sending him stumbling back.
He flipped in mid-air, dodging by inches a spear of gold-white light that sliced past his skull.
The Architect raised both hands, their godly magic reshaping the abyss itself. The void ruptured into turbulent platforms of power, creating a battlefield unlike anything Asher had ever seen.
"Fitting, isn't it?" the Architect remarked. "A final duel in the space between creation and oblivion."
Asher barely registered them. He shifted.
Shadows came at his pleasure as he blinked between planes, evading incinerating blasts intended to reduce him to ashes. His mind screamed as an astrophysical sword materialized in the Architect's palm, swinging down in a beam of untainted light.
He just managed to parry in time.
The collision sent a shockwave across the battlefield, cracks through the churning platforms below them. Asher clenched his teeth, struggling against the divine power.
You can't stop this!" the Architect growled, voice heavy with divine fury.
Silver flames flashed in Asher's gaze.
"Go ahead.".
The fight continued, fight of light and dark, godly will and sheer defiance. Asher struck harder, his power beyond mortal bounds. The Architect's golden glow flickered—only just.
Enough.
Asher dodged their guard, dark wrapping his fist as he struck at their core. The Architect's breath faltered, golden ichor surging into the hollow. Their form shook, wavering.
"No—"
Asher did not give. He drove deeper, using every bit of strength for the blow.
The Nexus groaned. The Veil ripped asunder.
A cacophonous crack echoed across the void as the High Architect's body burst apart utterly asunder. Their gold brilliance was shattered, consumed by the Nexus implosion.
Asher had no time to react before the Veil fell.
Darkness.
A jolting gasp ripped from his lungs as he woke—
—within the Cathedral.
The Nexus Gate was no more. The whole room had been destroyed, golden sigils broken, energy lingering in the air. Asher groaned, his body protesting as he attempted to rise.
Someone cried out.
"Asher!"
He hardly had time to focus on Ardyn when the rogue was standing beside him, his hand on his shoulder. "You alive?"
"Barely," Asher snarled, massaging his temple. "What was that?"
"The Gate fell," Ardyn said, staring out at the destruction. "Whatever you did, it worked. The Nexus is sealed. The Architect is dead."
Asher breathed hard, letting his head fall back against the chill of the stone. It was done.
Or so he thought.
For beyond the ruin of the Gate, something new stirs.
Something much, much worse had been awakened.