I stand at the edge of the cliff, the wind howling around me as Kael stands a few steps behind me, his presence a constant comfort even now. The city sprawls below, the lights a distant memory, and all I can think of is the inevitable. The Revenants are defeated, their plans unraveling, but at what cost?
The stone in my heart has reached its peak, cold and unyielding. It's taken everything I have—my humanity, my love for Kael, my very soul. The sacrifice has already begun.
I turn to face him one last time. He's standing there, waiting for me to make the decision. He doesn't speak, but I can see the pain in his eyes, the desperate hope that maybe, just maybe, I'll find a way out of this.
"I love you," I whisper, my voice cracking with the weight of the truth. "And I'm sorry."
I step forward, allowing the stone to consume me completely. My heart shatters, but it's the only way to stop the cycle. The only way to ensure the world doesn't fall into the hands of the Revenants.
Kael steps forward, but it's too late. The stone has taken me, and I'm slipping away from him, from everything I've known. He reaches for me, his hand brushing mine one last time before I vanish into the darkness.
But I am at peace now. Because I know that, in the end, my love for him was enough.
And that, perhaps, is the one thing the stone could never take from me.
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