Strange anomalies reappeared—rifts opening in distant worlds.
A figure returned from beyond the collapsed timelines: Kaelis, now reborn as something between memory and myth. He brought a message:
"The Crucible's echo survived. It hunts for a new heart."
Wang Chung knew it would come for the child.
But he would not let the cycle repeat.
He gathered the Triumvirate—old now, weary, but loyal.
They created the Mirror Bastion, a fortress of inverted time, where the girl would be safe.
Then Wang Chung made a choice.
He took her pendant.
And placed it on his own heart.