please, broken, help, can't, forever
Most of the voices are shattered, centuries of awareness having broken their minds into fragments. But Melara's voice cuts through, clear and desperate. Three years is long enough to suffer but not long enough to fragment completely.
Her consciousness focuses, sharpens.
Yorika. My brave sister. Free us. Please. It's been so long. So cold. Can't move can't speak can't die just existing forever and ever and ever.
"I will," I promise.
It will kill us.
"I know."
Thank you. Tell your mate... tell him thank you for trying. For finding you. For protecting you.
"Tell him yourself when you see him in whatever comes after."
Through the connection, I feel something that might be her consciousness smiling.
I love you, sister.
"I love you, too."
I raise the Soul-Still above my head. It burns my hands, cold so intense it feels hot. The Collector screams, reality warping as he tries to reach me. Nezavek holds him back, shadows and ice tearing at each other.
I look at Melara one last time. Her crystallized form catches the light, tears frozen on her cheeks creating tiny rainbows. Her eyes are peaceful now. Ready.
I bring the Soul-Still down against the pedestal with all my strength.
The crack is absolute.
For a heartbeat, nothing happens. The Collector laughs. "Did you think it would be that easy."
The Soul-Still explodes. Not outward but inward, pulling everything into itself before reversing. A wave of golden light erupts from the shattered core, carrying with it the screaming release of hundreds of souls.
The gallery's reality begins collapsing, walls folding into themselves, crystal victims dissolving into light.
Through it all, I hear Melara's voice one last time.Thank you.
NEZAVEK
Yorika raises the Soul-Still above her head.
Across the gallery, through crystallized victims and bending reality, our eyes meet. The bond between us pulses with everything we cannot say aloud. Through it, I send her my pride in her strength, my acceptance of whatever comes next, my love that I've never properly voiced.
The Collector lunges toward her, screaming.
I intercept him, my shadow form expanding to wrap around his crystalline body. My tendrils become weapons, blades of void that slash at his perfect form. Ice and shadow tear at each other, neither able to fully destroy the other. He's stronger here in his gallery, drawing power from the preserved suffering around us.
But I'm fighting for something more than survival now.
"You think you've won?" The Collector's laugh cuts through our struggle. "Even if she destroys it, you'll die."
I can’t help but smile. "Some prices are worth paying."
Yorika brings the Soul-Still down.
The crack echoes through dimensions. For a heartbeat, nothing happens. Then golden light erupts from the shattered core, not expanding outward but pulling everything in first, gathering power.
