It had been two weeks since the Rift closed.
The world had not celebrated.
Not yet.
Too many cities still smoked. Too many people were still missing. And for most, the moment the sky cracked had become a dividing line—before and after. What came next was uncharted.
But deep inside the rebuilt Citadel, a light still burned.
Jalen stood before the main console, shirt half-torn, his body marked with the Ember Core's veins of gold. He wasn't glowing anymore—but the energy hadn't left. It had simply gone quiet.
Ari entered behind him, arms crossed.
"You're not sleeping."
"I don't think I can," he admitted.
She walked up beside him. "You saved the world. Again. That's supposed to come with a nap and a parade."
He looked out the window. "Null is still alive."
"Yeah," she said. "But he's not a god anymore."
---
Down in the vault, Reyka monitored the stabilization fields keeping Null in a containment chamber. He looked human now—worn, gray, calm. As if his war had been a fever dream finally broken.
He never spoke.
But sometimes... he smiled.
And that scared Reyka more than anything.
She'd been working non-stop on new tech—ways to detect early Rift surges, new containment designs, even training modules for young sparks. The war had ended, but the cause hadn't.
Across the world, people were waking up changed.
Some with powers.
Others with memories of things that never happened.
Fractures. Echoes. Residue of the Rift.
The world wasn't broken—but it wasn't healed either.
---
The Unity Summit.
Jalen stood before representatives from every major zone—Nova, Helios, Crater City, even the floating Skyward Republic. Behind him stood Pulse, Gravemind, Nyx, Ari, and Reyka.
"This isn't about control anymore," Jalen said. "This is about understanding. We need to protect those who are waking up with powers—not cage them. We need to build new laws, new defenses—but also hope."
Nyx stepped forward.
"I've walked both sides of this war," she said. "And I promise you: if you choose fear now, you'll create the next Null."
Silence.
Then applause.
Not thunderous—but real.
---
Back at the Citadel that night, Jalen sat on the rooftop, watching the stars. The wind was quiet. Below him, life stirred. Music. Laughter. Even after everything, the people were living.
Ari joined him, two mugs of strong tea in hand.
"You think this is the end?" she asked.
He looked at his hands—no longer glowing, but still marked.
"No," he said. "But it's a beginning."
They sat there in silence.
Watching as the first shooting star of the new world lit up the sky.