The siege ended the same way it began.
With fire.
I stood on the battlements, watching the last of the monsters retreat into the darkness. My hands were still smoking. My body was still trembling. But we had won. The capital was half ruined, the streets littered with rubble and bodies, but we had won.
Kairos found me there. His footsteps were heavy on the stone. He didn't speak. He just stood beside me, looking out at the destruction.
"We did it," I whispered.
"Did we?"
"What do you mean?"
He turned to face me. His eyes were tired. Haunted. "The rift. It's still there. Getting wider every day. This wasn't a victory. It was a delay."
"Then we'll deal with it. Together."
"You keep saying that."
"Because I mean it."
He was quiet for a long time. The wind howled through the broken w
