THE SHADOW OF THE EMPTY THRONE

Days had passed. Days of tense and feverish calm in the citadel of Eldoria. The city, although wounded, had become the heart of the Resistance. Mio, who had gone into care again, had overdone her combat with the puppeteer, was slowly recovering.

In the infirmary, Luce finally awoke. She was covered in bandages, and a dull ache ran through her body. The first thing she saw was Asimil, sitting in a chair next to her bed, asleep, his head drooping on his chest. He looked exhausted.

She stirred, and the faint sound woke him. Asimil's eyes snapped open, and as he saw her awake, a wave of relief and overwhelming guilt crossed his face. He lunged forward and hugged her tightly, his face buried in her shoulder. — I'm sorry... — He sobbed, her voice breaking.  —I'm so sorry. I wasn't strong enough to protect you. —

Luce, surprised by the intensity of his emotion, returned his embrace with her healthy arm. 
— Don't be silly — she whispered, her usual smile quivering on her lips. — We are alive. That's a victory. —

They spent the next few days helping to restore the citadel and healing their own wounds, forging in the calm a connection deeper than any battle could have created.

Meanwhile, in the depths of the Void, the atmosphere was one of fury. — Morwen has fallen! — hissed Karen, her form still recovering from the battle with Mio. —  And our forces in the east have been stopped! We are being cornered! —

Before her, impassive on a throne of bone, stood Abaddon, the Final Herald.— The Puppet Master was arrogant and played his hand too soon — he said, his voice the rumble of a tomb. — His failure is irrelevant. The time has come to strike the final blow. —

A tremor ran through the Altverse. It was not a localized earthquake. It was as if the whole world was shaking. Asimil and Luce, who were on the wall, clung to the battlements. Ikel and Mitsu, in their camp leagues away, saw the mountains vibrate.

And then, in the center of the map, where the ruins of the Pit once stood, the earth opened up. A colossal, corrupt castle, with the gigantic black, rotting tree growing from its highest tower, was reborn from the depths, a tumor of stone and darkness rising up to touch the broken sky.

Everyone felt it. The beginning of the end.

On the Eastern Front, Ikel and Mitsu were still mourning Lyra's capture, her loss an open wound on the team. It was then that an Alliance messenger arrived, out of breath. — The Bastion of Eldoria... was attacked! The Puppet Master! —

Without thinking, they set off. — We won't lose anyone else — Ikel growled.They ran to help, unaware that the battle was already over.

Back in Eldoria, just as the commotion over the Void castle was beginning to settle in, Kenji, Tenshi's boyfriend, returned from his reconnaissance mission. His face was pale. He did not bring good news.
—  I found this in the Sovereign Queen's private office — he said, handing tenshi and asimil a register.  —  It is her last will. —

It was his handwriting, unmistakable. Tenshi read aloud,  — If you are watching this, it means the traitor has made his move and I have fallen. Do not trust the official channels. I have tasked Aegis and the Sage of the Veil with a secret mission to find the true weakness of the Void. Seek them out. They are our last hope. —

The group fell into stunned silence. Morwen's betrayal had been even more profound than they thought. But the horror was not over. Another messenger came running, this time with a scroll dripping with dark energy.

— It's from General Kaelus.... — said the messenger, trembling.

Asimil took the parchment. He opened it. There were only three words. — WE HAVE THE HEALER— 

Lyra. She had been kidnapped.

A cold, silent fury seized Asimil. He squeezed the parchment until his knuckles turned white, the paper almost cracking under the pressure. He said nothing. But in his eyes, the Emerald Flame began to burn with an intensity they had never seen before, a silent promise of terrible retribution. The war had become personal. Again.