Silence stretched between them, heavy and suffocating. Orion felt his heart hammer in his chest. This woman—this entity—had been the catalyst for everything. The Veiled Queen tilted her head slightly, her eyes unreadable behind the shimmering veil.
Kael clenched his fists. "So you caused all of this? The paradox, the lost souls, the destruction?"
The Queen lifted a delicate hand. "No. I merely gave fate a push."
Orion narrowed his eyes. "Then why lead us here?"
"Because you are the only ones who can undo it." She gestured toward the mirrors, which now reflected not illusions, but fragments of reality. In one, Orion saw himself standing at a cosmic altar, a celestial blade in hand. In another, Lyra stood by his side, her expression torn between love and sorrow.
"You are bound to her," the Queen said softly, looking at Lyra. "But fate will force you to choose."
A chill ran down Orion's spine. Lyra turned to him, searching his face for answers he didn't have.
Astra took a step forward. "What choice are you speaking of?"
The Veiled Queen turned away. "All will become clear when the final star falls."
With that, the mirrors shattered, and the palace began to crumble around them.
Chapter 21: A Fateful Escape
The ground shook violently as the Palace of Forgotten Echoes began collapsing. Orion grabbed Lyra's hand and pulled her forward, dodging falling debris. Kael sliced through the spectral figures that tried to block their way, his sword glowing with raw energy.
"The bridge!" Astra called out. "We need to get back before—"
But before they could reach it, the entire structure gave way, sending them plummeting into the abyss.
Orion's vision blurred as they fell through an endless void. The Veiled Queen's words echoed in his mind. You are bound to her... But fate will force you to choose.
Darkness swallowed them whole.
Then, he woke up.
Orion found himself lying in a vast field beneath a sky filled with stars that didn't belong to this universe. Lyra was beside him, unconscious but breathing. Astra and Kael were nowhere in sight.
As he sat up, he noticed someone standing a few feet away. The woman from his vision—the one with violet eyes.
She smiled. "It's time you learned the truth, Orion."
And with those words, the true journey began.