The clang of steel echoed through the hollow plain. Each strike between Arka and the First Echo sent arcs of blinding energy into the cracked sky, tearing at the fragile threads of the Balance.
Arka's breath came sharp and controlled, his eyes glowing faintly blue. "You talk about ending the cycle, but all I see is another tyrant trying to rewrite the world."
The First Echo smiled, parrying effortlessly. "Tyrant? No. I am simply… tired. Do you know how many times I've watched creation rise, crumble, and begin again? Mortals, gods, beasts — all bound by the same mistake."
Their blades locked. Sparks of starlight scattered.
"The mistake," the Echo whispered, leaning closer, "was believing Balance could ever be shared."
Arka gritted his teeth and pushed back, sending a pulse of energy through the ground. The obsidian plain shattered beneath them. Shards floated upward, spinning in midair like fragments of glass.
"You think you can control both sides," Arka said. "But you'll only become what Kael feared most."
The Echo's expression flickered — a trace of bitterness, almost grief. "Kael…" He lowered his blade for a moment. "She was a fool. But she understood one thing — the Balance needs a heart. Without it, the power collapses. She gave hers away."
His gaze lifted to Arka. "You carry her remnant now. That's why you were chosen."
Arka's body tensed. The starfire mark on his chest pulsed faintly. "Chosen for what?"
The Echo extended a hand. "To end this pain. To join me. Together, we can erase the constant struggle between light and shadow. No more gods. No more beasts. Just silence — pure, eternal stillness."
For a heartbeat, the offer felt heavy — almost comforting.
The plain around them shimmered, showing fragments of what could be: a world without war, without beasts torn between instinct and will, without the ache of loss. Lyra's face appeared among the illusions — peaceful, unscarred, smiling.
Arka closed his eyes. The vision cut deep.
The Echo's voice softened. "You see it, don't you? The quiet. The peace. Let it end, Arka. You've fought enough."
For a long moment, Arka didn't move. Then he opened his eyes — the blue replaced by molten gold.
"No."
The Echo's expression darkened.
"I've seen what peace without choice looks like," Arka continued, voice steady. "It's not peace. It's emptiness."
He raised his sword. "Kael didn't give her heart to end the Balance — she gave it so others could choose to protect it."
The air trembled.
"Then you choose death," the Echo hissed, his composure breaking.
Power erupted from him like a collapsing star. The ground cracked, and countless reflections of himself emerged from the shadows — each holding a blade of reversed light.
Arka tightened his stance, energy swirling around him. "If that's what it takes."
The clones rushed in, but Arka moved like lightning. Each swing tore through illusions, dispersing them in bursts of golden vapor. Yet for every reflection destroyed, two more appeared.
The Echo's voice echoed from everywhere and nowhere at once. "You can't fight eternity, Arka. You'll drown in it."
Arka's pulse quickened. The energy inside him surged uncontrollably, the Balance itself responding to his will. He felt Kael's echo whispering within the storm.
"The Balance isn't won by force… it's carried by faith."
He raised his sword high, and light erupted upward — connecting heaven and ground. The reflections shattered all at once, their essence absorbed by the central spire in the distance.
The explosion that followed consumed everything.
When the light faded, Arka was on one knee, panting heavily. The plain was gone. Only the spire remained — cracked but standing.
The Echo stood at its base, untouched, his cloak torn and his smile faint. "Impressive. You have Kael's defiance."
Arka steadied himself. "And her will."
The Echo tilted his head. "Then you already know what's coming. The Balance cannot sustain two hearts forever. One of you must fall."
A faint tremor spread through the realm — a heartbeat from another world. Lyra's.
Arka felt it through the bond. She's getting closer.
The Echo stepped back into the spire's shadow. "Then let's see whose faith burns brighter when she arrives."
He vanished.
Arka looked toward the horizon — where faint golden light flickered in the distance. His expression hardened.
"Lyra… don't come here."