Novael's ruins faded behind them, but the weight of what Jin Long had discovered in the Time Maw still lingered. As the Celestial Wound glided back into stable reality, he stared into the corrupted Seed of Continuum now locked in a crystal chamber beneath the ship's deck—pulsing faintly with fragmented futures.
Yue Lan sat beside him in silence. Even she, usually composed, was shaken.
"He was you," she said finally, breaking the silence. "A version of you that gave up."
Jin Long didn't respond right away. He watched the stars stretch by the viewing port, each one a world full of lives. Possibilities.
"Yes," he said. "And if I falter… he won't be the last version of me I'll have to kill."
Meiko entered the command chamber, her face tight with worry. "Transmission from the Void Frontier. One of our scout worlds—Tiralis—was hit by a spatial storm. But there was no storm. Not naturally."
"What then?" Jin asked.
"A song. That's what survivors called it. A song that melted metal, shattered memories, and rewrote the laws of matter. They're calling it the Broken Star."
Elder Ji's voice cut in over the internal comms. "A legendary weapon. Forbidden even in the war of the Celestials. Said to be powered by the sorrow of a dying god."
Yue Lan's eyes narrowed. "And let me guess… it's active again."
Meiko nodded. "And guess who's headed straight toward it?"
"Vael'thyr," Jin said darkly.
—
They arrived at Tiralis' orbit in hours. What had once been a lush arboreal planet was now a shattered shell of floating rock, bathed in pale blue light. Sound didn't travel in space—but they felt the vibration. It echoed through their bones, through the ship, like a weeping lullaby made of screams.
Jin Long activated his armor, stepping onto the transport deck. "We're going down."
Yue Lan grabbed his arm. "We go together."
—
Tiralis' surface was worse than they expected. Mountains had unraveled like cloth, trees folded into shapes that defied geometry, and rivers flowed upward into the void. Time and physics bent in unnatural ways.
At the center of it all stood a monument—a spire of crystal that emitted the broken song. Around it hovered shards of stardust and screams—resonating notes of sorrow that warped reality.
There stood the wielder of the Broken Star.
She was not like Zhan Wuhen or the corrupted Jin Long.
She was… serene.
Clad in starlight, with flowing hair that shimmered like galaxies, the woman floated above the ground, her eyes closed, arms outstretched.
"I am Lyssaria," she said without speaking. "The Starborn Requiem."
Yue Lan gasped. "She's not a void being."
"No," Jin whispered. "She's something older."
Lyssaria opened her eyes—pools of infinite sadness. "The Core-bearer. I was told you would come."
"By who?" Jin demanded, drawing his blade.
"By the song," she answered. "The song written by fate itself. And you… are the discord in its final verse."
Without warning, Lyssaria moved. Not in violence—but in music. Every motion was a note, and the world bent to her will. Jin Long parried a slash of light that echoed like a symphony's crescendo. Yue Lan danced with fire and wind to deflect a descending harmony of destruction.
The battle became an orchestra.
But Jin Long realized something—the song was not just power.
It was pain.
With each movement, Lyssaria's sorrow deepened. She wasn't attacking. She was mourning.
"Lyssaria!" Jin shouted, lowering his sword. "Who did you lose?"
She hesitated. The music paused.
"My son," she whispered. "He was taken… by Vael'thyr. Twisted into one of his own. And I… became this."
Tears floated from her cheeks, turning to stars.
"I play the song so I don't forget his name."
Jin Long stepped forward, lowering his sword completely. "Then help me stop him. Help me make sure no more names are lost."
For a long moment, the world stood still. The song trembled on a final note.
Then… silence.
Lyssaria descended. The Broken Star faded.
She placed a hand over Jin's heart. "Then carry my sorrow, Core-bearer. Let it guide your blade."
A second Seed—the Seed of Emotion—awakened.
—
As they left the ruined world, Lyssaria's voice echoed softly.
"Tell Vael'thyr… his silence is ending."