Silence didn’t last long.
It never did anymore.
The glowing seal where Eren had disappeared pulsed once… twice… then sank into the broken ground like it was being swallowed by the world itself.
Lyra fell to her knees.
“No… no, no, no—”
Her hands dug into the cracked stone.
“Eren!”
Kael stood frozen.
Not because he didn’t want to move.
Because his body felt wrong.
Like something inside him had been cut in half.
Seraphina rushed forward, scanning the seal.
Her face darkened.
“This is worse than I thought.”
Lyra snapped her head up.
“Bring him back!”
Seraphina didn’t answer immediately.
That silence was the answer.
Kael finally spoke.
“What did I do?”
His voice was low.
Dangerously controlled.
Seraphina looked at him.
“You didn’t destroy the connection.”
A pause.
“You separated it.”
Lyra shook her head.
“I don’t care about theories. My son is gone!”
Kael stepped forward.
“So where is he?”
Seraphina pointed at the seal.
“He is not gone.”
Then her voice lowered.
“He is divided.”
A sudden pulse rippled through the ground.
Everyone felt it.
Not here.
Far away.
Somewhere in the world.
A second heartbeat answered.
Kael stiffened.
Lyra felt it too.
She grabbed her chest.
“What is that?”
Kael whispered.
“…Eren.”
Seraphina nodded slowly.
“The child is no longer one being.”
Roderick, barely standing, laughed weakly behind them.
“You really did it.”
Kael turned sharply.
“What are you talking about?”
Roderick coughed.
“You split the prophecy.”
Lyra’s eyes narrowed.
“Explain.”
Roderick wiped blood from his lips.
“There was never supposed to be one heir.”
A pause.
“There were always two.”
Kael’s expression hardened.
“That’s impossible.”
Roderick smiled faintly.
“You think the prophecy was broken.”
He shook his head.
“It was incomplete.”
Seraphina looked at Kael.
“She’s right.”
Seraphina continued.
“The Moonborn entity was never meant to be contained in one vessel.”
Her gaze shifted toward the seal.
“It needed dual existence to stabilize.”
Lyra stood up shakily.
“Where is my son?”
Seraphina hesitated.
“Half of him remains here.”
A pause.
“And half of him… awakened elsewhere.”
Kael turned away sharply.
His aura exploded outward.
The ground cracked beneath him.
“Find him.”
Seraphina stepped back.
“It’s not that simple.”
Kael’s voice dropped.
“I didn’t ask.”
Lyra grabbed his arm.
“Kael—wait.”
He looked at her.
And for the first time since everything began— he looked afraid again.
“My son is out there alone.”
Lyra’s voice softened.
“He’s still alive.”
Kael nodded once.
“That’s why I’m going.”
Elsewhere.
A different land.
A different sky.
A small town far from Moonfang territory.
Inside an abandoned temple.
A child opened his eyes.
He was identical to Eren.
But not the same.
He looked around slowly.
Confused.
Then he whispered:
“…Mom?”
A voice answered from outside.
A calm female voice.
“You’re awake.”
The child turned.
A woman stood in the doorway.
Dressed in black.
Eyes unfamiliar.
But her presence felt… ancient.
The boy frowned.
“Where is my mom?”
The woman tilted her head slightly.
“You don’t have one here.”
Silence.
The child stepped back.
“Where’s Kael?”
The woman paused.
Then smiled faintly.
“So you remember that name.”
The child’s eyes narrowed.
Something inside him stirred.
Power.
Unstable.
The air around him cracked slightly.
The woman noticed immediately.
“Interesting…”
She stepped closer.
“You inherited the stronger half.”
The boy backed away.
“Where am I?”
The woman answered simply.
“You are in the place where kings are remade.”
Back in Moonfang.
Kael stood at the edge of the broken seal.
Lyra joined him.
Neither spoke for a moment.
Then Lyra asked quietly:
“Can you bring him back?”
Kael didn’t answer immediately.
Because for the first time… he didn’t know.
Seraphina walked up behind them.
“There is something you need to understand.”
Kael looked at her.
“What?”
She pointed at the seal.
“This is not a prison.”
A pause.
“It is a gateway.”
Lyra frowned.
“To what?”
Seraphina’s expression darkened.
“To the origin of your bloodline.”
Kael’s eyes sharpened.
“The first Alpha King.”
Seraphina nodded.
“And the first Luna Queen.”
Lyra froze.
Kael turned slowly.
“And you’re telling me my son is connected to both.”
Seraphina met his gaze.
“No.”
A pause.
“He is connected to what they became after they died.”
Silence.
Lyra whispered:
“…What did they become?”
Seraphina’s answer was quiet.
“The thing beneath the world.”
A distant roar echoed across the land.
Not heard with ears.
Felt in the bones.
Kael immediately turned toward the horizon.
Something was rising again.
But this time… not from beneath Moonfang.
From everywhere.
Seraphina’s voice dropped.
“The split triggered it.”
Kael’s jaw tightened.
“Triggered what?”
She looked at him.
“The return of the original being.”
Lyra’s breath shook.
“You mean the thing we saw before?”
Seraphina nodded.
“It is no longer sealed.”
Kael stepped forward.
“Where is the other half of my son?”
Seraphina hesitated.
Then said:
“Where it belongs.”
Kael narrowed his eyes.
“And where is that?”
A long pause.
Then Seraphina answered:
“With the one who created this system.”
Kael froze.
Lyra whispered:
“…Who?”
Seraphina looked at both of them.
And said the final line calmly.
“The true Alpha King.”
A violent pulse exploded across the sky.
And far beyond the horizon— a throne awakened.