The city was silent for the first time in what felt like eternity. Rain still fell, but the streets were no longer crawling with shadows. The shattered fragments of the First floated gently in the air, dissolving into shimmering light.
Liora collapsed to her knees, exhausted, but the whisper inside her felt alive, proud. You remembered. You fought. You won.
Kael appeared beside her, his fractured-star eyes softening. "You did more than survive, Liora. You healed part of what they had broken."
She looked at him, her chest still heaving. "What about the people they took? The ones I couldn't save?"
Kael gestured to the shards of light. "Not all is lost. Some were trapped within the First. You have the Sight now. You can bring them back."
Liora focused, extending her Sight into the shards. Slowly, faces began to emerge — children, friends, mentors — all those stolen by the Glassless. Their eyes opened, some frightened, some relieved. One by one, they returned to the world.
The whisper hummed joyfully: You are whole. And they are free.
A calm descended over the city. The Citadel glowed faintly, its walls reflecting the light of the liberated fragments.
But Kael's expression darkened slightly. "This victory is yours, but remember… the Glassless are not gone forever. They will always exist where fear and forgotten memories dwell."
Liora nodded. "Then I will remain vigilant. I won't hide again."