The days that followed were anything but quiet.
Kai and his companions took shelter in an abandoned mountainside village—long since swallowed by vines and silence. But within its crumbling walls, they trained, fought, meditated… and remembered.
Ayaka stood beneath the waterfall, her blade humming as it danced between frost and lightning. Her steps were fluid now—deadly with grace. She wasn't just fighting for the world. She was fighting for herself.
Ren had carved a small arena from the earth itself. He moved like a storm—blades spinning, wind howling. No longer chasing strength, but mastering it.
Kai… sat cross-legged at the center of the old shrine, the orb floating before him.
It pulsed with steady light now—not chaotic like before, but curious, responsive.
He saw visions in its glow:
A child of fire holding hands with a beast of frost.
A girl with silver hair watching the stars cry blood.
A tree—massive, black-rooted, its branches reaching into the heavens... and cracking them.
He opened his eyes.
"They're gathering."
Ayaka turned. "The enemies?"
Kai nodded. "Not just enemies. Challengers. Some want the World Seed. Some want me. Some just want to prove they can kill a legend."
Ren walked over, cracking his knuckles. "Let them come."
Kai rose slowly, the orb spiraling back into his palm. "Shardspire is the battlefield. But here… is where we become unshakable."
They stood together—weathered, scarred, but stronger than ever.
The world had shifted.
Now… it would feel the roots of their rebirth.