The golden figure floated above the broken camp.
Its light was warm. It pushed back the purple darkness.
Solara, the Lightkeeper, looked down at Kai. Her eyes glowed. They looked kind and old at the same time.
Kai stood still between his friends and the new god.
His heart beat so fast he could hear it in his ears.
Solara spoke. Her voice was calm but strong.
"I have watched you, Kai Voss. You died and came back. You took Echoes but did not become a monster. You fought two gods and kept your soul. That is rare. I offer you a deal."
Lira stepped closer to Kai. Her silver threads glowed like a shield around him.
"Don't listen," she said. "Gods always want something in return."
Mira held her cards tight. She was ready to throw them at any second.
"Whatever she gives you," she whispered, "it will cost you something."
Solara smiled softly, like she heard them both.
"I do not want to control you like the others. I want to help you remove Nyxar and Veyra from your body for good. In return, you will be my champion. You will keep your free will. But you will help me bring light back to this world when the last crack opens."
The two gods inside Kai reacted at once.
Nyxar roared, "She lies! She wants to kill us!"
Veyra whispered fast, "Do not trust her. She will use you and throw you away."
Kai's head hurt. It felt like his mind was breaking in three pieces.
He looked up at Solara. "Why me? Why now?"
Solara's light grew soft.
"Because you are the only one who stole from gods and stayed human. Your power is special. With my help, you can control it instead of it controlling you. But you must choose fast. The last wave of the Quake is coming. When it hits, the other gods will try to take you again. And this time, you may not win."
The whole camp was silent.
Everyone was watching Kai.
Mira stepped forward. Her voice shook but she was firm.
"Kai, think hard. If you say yes, you might lose the last part of yourself. The part that is still you. If you say no, the two gods inside you might wake up stronger."
Lira's eyes were wet but she did not look away.
"Whatever you choose, we will stand with you," she said. "But remember who you are. The boy who woke up in the morgue with nothing, and still tried to do the right thing."
Kai closed his eyes for a second.
He felt the nine Echoes inside him, quiet but waiting. He felt the small pieces of Nyxar and Veyra, angry and scared. He felt Solara's golden light ,arm and safe and dangerous.
He opened his eyes.
"I need time," he said. "I will not choose while the camp is still in danger."
Solara nodded slowly.
"You have until the last wave reaches its peak," she said. "When the final crack fully opens, I will come back for your answer. Choose well, Kai Voss. More than your soul is at stake."
The golden light faded.
Solara was gone. Only a soft glow remained in the air.
The moment she left, the ground shook hard.
The final wave had started.
Purple-black light poured from the biggest crack in the sky. New cracks opened all over the camp. Dozens of Quake spawns crawled out of the ground. They were bigger and hungrier than before.
Kai felt it right away.
Hundreds of new Echo signals exploded around the camp as people awakened in fear.
The desire to take those Echoes was stronger than ever.
It burned in his chest.
Nyxar and Veyra spoke together now, their voices mixing into one.
"Take them! Take them now, before Solara comes back!"
Kai's hands shook.
His overlap risk in his mind hit 99%. One more step and he would lose himself.
He looked at Lira. At Mira.
"I won't take them," he said. His voice was rough. "We protect the camp first."
Mira tried to smile even though she was scared.
"That's my Kai," she said. "Let's beat these spawns."
Lira's silver threads shone bright.
"Together," she said.
The three of them rushed into the fight.
Kai moved like a storm. He punched spawns with clean, strong hits. He was not fighting the Echoes anymore. He was using them.
Mira threw cards everywhere. Fire. Ice. Shields. Safe zones for the people.
Lira's threads tied up the monsters and healed Kai whenever he got hurt.
They fought as one team. Perfect. Fast.
But the Quake spawns did not stop.
For every one they killed, two more appeared.
Kai's body felt heavy. Tired. The god pieces inside him woke up again because of all the new awakenings.
"I will not take any Echoes!" Kai shouted. "I choose to stay me!"
Then a huge spawn broke through the line. It jumped straight at Lira.
Kai did not think.
He jumped in front of her and took the hit.
The force threw him back.
He hit the ground hard. Blood filled his mouth.
"Kai!" Mira screamed.
Lira was beside him in a second. She wrapped him in glowing silver threads that healed his wounds.
"You saved me again," she whispered.
Kai pushed himself up, breathing hard. Blood dripped from his lip.
He looked at the army of spawns. At the sky tearing apart.
And he felt it .Solara was still watching and waiting.
He whispered, "She is waiting for my answer."
The final wave grew stronger. The sky split wider. The cracks spread across the heavens like broken glass.
Kai looked at Lira and Mira. Then he looked at the people behind them. The people they were protecting.
The choice was coming. He could feel it.
Say yes to Solara and remove the other gods but risk losing himself or say no and keep fighting alone and risk losing everything when the last crack opens.
The answer would change everything.
And the final wave was only getting worse.