The rooftop of World Guidance's citadel breathed in silence, high above the flickering lights of the city. Wind swept gently across the marble tiles, curling around the silhouette of a girl standing at its edge—alone beneath the trembling stars.
Lillian.
Her raven-black hair danced like ink against the wind, and her sapphire-blue eyes shimmered beneath the moonlight, filled with memories that never quite left her. She wore a long silver-white coat over her black dress, a contrast that made her seem both delicate and powerful—like winter's last bloom.
She gazed out at the horizon.
"Brother…" she whispered, so quietly it almost wasn't real. "Where did you go?"
Her heart ached with a strange emptiness. Since Jin's ascension, something had changed—he'd grown quieter, distant. His eyes no longer held the warmth of the boy who once promised her the stars. He now carried the weight of gods. And in doing so, he'd left behind pieces of himself.
She didn't blame him.
But she missed him.
Footsteps broke the silence. Familiar, steady.
She didn't turn. "You followed me again."
Chris Walker smiled as he stepped beside her, wind ruffling his hair. His dark coat flared behind him like a shadow, but his presence was warm—grounded.
"I always do," he said. "It's kind of my thing."
She allowed herself a faint smile.
Chris leaned against the railing beside her, looking out. "This city's quiet. Too quiet for what it's been through."
"It feels like the calm before something cruel," Lillian murmured.
Chris tilted his head toward her. "You always sense it before anyone else. That's what I like about you."
Her breath caught.
Chris took a slow step closer, voice lower now. "Lillian, there's something I have to say—before this peace breaks again."
She turned to face him.
"I am now a Beyonder," he said.
Her eyes widened.
"I didn't ask for it. The Sadan Island did something to me. I saw through the veil… I heard whispers beyond gods. But none of it made sense, none of it mattered—not until I thought of you."
He stepped closer. "You're not just Jin's little sister. You're the reason I love this world. The reason I want to keep living, even if the world falls apart again."
His voice trembled, but his eyes did not.
"I love you, Lillian."
She froze.
"I love you—not because you're strong, or beautiful, or part of Jin's world. I love you because when I see you, I believe there's still something in this universe worth saving. I don't care what blood runs in your veins, or what future waits for us. Just… stay with me. Choose me."
The night wind held its breath.
Lillian stared at him—at the boy who had stood beside her through every ruin and resurrection. Her lips parted slightly. Her eyes shimmered—not with power, but something more fragile.
She stepped forward.
And kissed him.
Not a desperate kiss, nor a rushed one. It was quiet, reverent. A promise wrapped in silence.
She pulled away just slightly. "Then let's stay in this moment. Just for a while. Before the storm comes."
Chris smiled. "I'll protect this moment. No matter what."
They held each other as the stars watched in silence.
Meanwhile, Jin slammed another old tome shut in the underground archives of World Guidance. His coat dusted with cobwebs, his fingers bleeding from cursed ink. The riddle in the book Nyreth left him echoed in his mind:
"A flower entwined with the abyss's deep song,
Yet her purity lingers, untouched and strong…"
He breathed hard. His notes scattered across the desk. Strings of clues—poetic fragments, timelines, seals, prophetic metaphors.
Then the revelation hit him like thunder.
A name hidden in the last verse.
Lily.
No… Lillian.
He froze. The blood in his veins turned to ice. He grabbed the book. The page that once showed only riddles now shimmered faintly with new ink. The lines reshaped.
"The heir walks beside the storm,
Her smile, the last balance before the fall."
Jin stood in horror and awe.
"She… she's the heir."
Jin's chest felt cold.
His sister.
His only light.
The heir of Aurevian.
The one born to restore—or destroy—the Balance.
He backed away from the table, heart thundering.
"…Lillian."
But why hadn't he seen it before?
And more importantly… who else knew?