A heavy silence descended upon the throne room, broken only by Sephira's quiet sobs.
The oppressive atmosphere of corrupted Lifestream had vanished, replaced by a soft, warm glow that soothed the senses.
The others watched, their tension slowly draining away.
The battle was over, but the war for Sephira's soul was just beginning.
Arthur knelt before her, his body aching, but his gaze unwavering.
He reached out a hand, and for a moment, Sephira flinched, her instincts telling her to retreat.
But his touch was gentle, and as his fingers brushed her cheek, she felt a profound sense of pity and understanding.
He wasn't reaching out to hurt her, but to help.
"Sephira,"
He said, his voice a calm counterpoint to her grief.
"You're not just a memory. You're still here."
She looked up at him, her eyes clouded with tears.
"But… I'm not supposed to be. I was a paradox. A mistake. My existence was an echo of something that shouldn't have been."
Arthur nodded.
"The Whisperers thought so. They see the world in black and white—a perfect, unchanging timeline. But life isn't like that. It's full of mistakes, of paradoxes. It's messy and chaotic, but that's what makes it beautiful."
He took a deep breath, focusing his mind.
He could feel the Lifestream around them, still raw from Sephira's corruption, but beginning to heal.
He could also feel something else—the faint, painful echoes of her existence, a cosmic paradox that the Lifestream was struggling to contain.
The Whisperers were still trying to erase her, to knit the timeline back together as if she had never existed.
Arthur wouldn't let that happen.
"The Whisperers want to erase you,"
He said.
"And I can't stop them with brute force. They are the guardians of the timeline. I need a different kind of power."
He closed his eyes, his mind reaching for the deepest part of his abilities—the Reality Blending he had only ever partially released. This wasn't about fighting.
This was about rewriting reality itself, just a little.
He had to make her existence a part of the natural order, not a paradox to be erased.
He wasn't going to change history, only her place within it.
"What… what are you doing?"
Sephira asked, her voice trembling with a mix of fear and hope.
"I'm going to make you real,"
Arthur said, his eyes glowing with the same soft, golden light as before, but this time, it was different. It wasn't the light of battle, but the light of creation.
He placed both hands on her shoulders.
He wasn't performing a magic spell, he was performing an act of pure will.
He was telling the universe, and the Lifestream, that she was meant to be here.
A soft, golden light enveloped them both.
Arthur could feel the cosmic energy of his Adolescent Reality Blending Cosmic True Dragon powers flowing through him, connecting to the very essence of the Lifestream.
He was mixing the two, blending the cosmic with the natural, to create a new, stable reality for Sephira.
He was making her a part of the timeline, a fixed point instead of a shifting paradox.
He was using his Dragon's Heart to pour his own existence into her, not to share his power, but to give her the stability she lacked.
As the light intensified, the others watched in awe.
They could feel the very air shifting, the paradoxes in the city around them beginning to settle and heal.
The screams of the Lifestream subsided into a gentle hum. The King had not come to destroy, but to rebuild.
Suddenly, Arthur's body began to shimmer, his form becoming a blur of light and shadow.
He gritted his teeth, the effort of what he was doing almost too much for him.
This was not a physical challenge, but a mental one.
He was rewriting a fundamental truth of the universe, and it was pushing his powers to their very limit.
"Arthur!"
Aerith cried out, stepping forward.
"No, stay back,"
He grunted, his voice strained.
"If you interrupt, she'll be erased forever. I have to do this alone."
He pushed harder, drawing on his Super Focus to block out the pain and the sheer difficulty of the task.
He was using his Soul Magic to connect with her very essence, weaving her soul into the fabric of the planet, making her an Echo of Hope instead of an Echo of Despair.
He was fixing the broken reflection, making it whole.
A brilliant flash of light erupted from the pair, blinding everyone in the room.
When their vision returned, Arthur was kneeling on the floor, panting, and Sephira was standing, looking at her hands in wonder.
Her eyes were no longer filled with sorrow, but with a peaceful, calm light.
She felt… real. The feeling of being a paradox, of being a mistake, was gone.
She was a part of the world, just like everyone else.
"I… I'm here,"
She whispered, tears of joy now streaming down her face.
"I'm really here."
Arthur managed a weak smile.
"I told you so."
He tried to stand, but his legs gave out, and he would have collapsed if not for Aerith and Tifa rushing to his side.
They helped him up, and Aerith used her powers to send a gentle wave of healing energy through him.
"You're an idiot, Arthur,"
Barret said, but his voice was filled with deep respect.
"You could have erased yourself with that move."
"I know,"
Arthur said, his head spinning.
"But I couldn't just leave her like that. She deserved a chance."
Sephira knelt before him, her head bowed in reverence.
"Thank you, Arthur. You… you saved me. Not from myself, but from… nothingness."
Suddenly, the air grew cold, and a strange, shimmering noise filled the room.
The group looked up as the Whisperers appeared. Their ghostly forms swirled around, no longer frantic.
Now, they were focused and silent, their attention fixed on Arthur.
"They're coming for you,"
Cloudia said, her hand on her sword hilt.
"You messed with the timeline. They won't just stand by."
Arthur, still leaning on Aerith, took a shaky step forward.
"I'm not going to run. I did what was right."
But before he could say more, Sephira stepped in front of him.
Her body was no longer flickering. She stood solid and sure, her new existence firm.
The Whisperers paused, their swirling forms still and confused.
"He is not a paradox,"
Sephira stated, her voice clear and strong.
"I am. And I am no longer a mistake."
The Whisperers seemed to hesitate.
They couldn't understand what they were seeing.
To them, Sephira should have been erased with Arthur, a problem fixed.
But now, here she was, not a fading echo of a man's memory, but a new, complete person.
She was a fixed point in the timeline, an unexpected but permanent part of the world.
"He didn't break the timeline,"
Sephira continued, looking directly at the leader of the Whisperers.
"He gave it a new beginning. He made a broken part of the Lifestream whole again. I am not a fragment of Sephiroth. I am a child of the planet, just like you. I am meant to be here."
As she spoke, a soft, green light pulsed from her, pushing back against the Whisperers' dark energy.
It was the pure, uncorrupted power of the Lifestream, and it was her own.
She had been given a second chance, and she was using it not to fight, but to exist.