Seong stood before the last shadow. Around him, the battle had stopped. Everyone was watching. The other shadows had retreated into the darkness, waiting to see what their leader would do.
"You have a choice," said Seong. "You can continue to fight. You can try to destroy everything we have built. You can feed on fear and pain until there is nothing left. Or you can stop. You can rest. You can choose to be something else."
"Something else?" The shadow's voice cracked. "I have been this for so long. I do not remember what else I could be."
"Then let us help you remember."
Seong extended his hand. Not a weapon. Not a command. An invitation.
The shadow looked at his hand. Looked at the tree. Looked at the people watching, their faces not filled with hatred, but with hope.
And slowly, hesitantly, the shadow reached out.
When their hands touched, the shadow began to change. The darkness faded. The form shifted. And standing before Seong was not a shadow, but a woman. Pale, trembling, with eyes that had not seen light in centuries.
"I was... I was a mother," she whispered. "I lost my children. I could not bear the pain. So I became this. So I would not have to feel."
"You do not have to feel alone," said the queen, stepping forward. "You do not have to carry your grief in darkness. We will carry it with you."
The woman wept. Not tears of sorrow. Tears of relief. Tears of a wound finally beginning to heal.