The Legacy of the Uncharted

~ The End ~ Or is it ?

The sky barrier cracked like glass.

Not from above.
From beneath.

A single arm long, jagged, formed of pitch-black mist and bone burst through the glowing shield surrounding Zephyrion. The impact shook the entire sky island. Ancient runes flickered. The air rippled with a choking cold.

Everyone felt it.

Pirates froze.
Mordeclai's soldiers raised weapons.
Galen, Elara, and Eli turned sharply toward the tremor.

And deep inside the Heart Chamber, Alex's pulse stuttered.

A second arm tore through the barrier, black flames dripping from its claws. A huge, distorted face pressed against the cracked shield no eyes, only a void where hunger lived.

A voice seeped into the air like poison, stretching through every corridor, every breath, every heartbeat:

"You're mine."

The sound wasn't heard.
It was felt.
Inside bone, inside memory, inside fear.

"Mordeclai—" Alex gasped.

He was already moving, cloak snapping behind him. "Stay behind me."

The King of Shadows forced half its colossal head through the weakened barrier. Darkness spilled across the sky like a storm of ink. The sky island trembled again. In the distance, the Navy's first sky ships screamed as shadow creatures latched onto their hulls.

Theo and Lucy burst onto the balcony, breathless.

"Cap—" Lucy's voice broke. "What is that?!"

Sophie clutched her twins close. The infants glowed faint blue in her arms, crying as if they recognized an ancient enemy.

Galen drew his blade. "Everyone outside. NOW."

They ran out of the Heart Chamber and onto the tallest platform of Zephyrion.

The barrier finally shattered.

The King of Shadows emerged in full.

A towering being of void, bone, storm, and night. Its body seemed to swallow the light around it. Its limbs twisted and flowed like smoke and stone at the same time. Its voice tore through the air again:

"The Heart belongs to no one but me."

Alex stepped forward, floating slightly above the ground. Her silver-white glow flared around her body.

"The Heart is mine," she said, voice calm and shaking with fury, "and Mordeclai's."

The King hissed, voice warping the sky.

"Little Heartborn. You belong to me."

Mordeclai stepped in front of her, sword drawn, fury burning in his eyes.

"You won't lay a finger on her," he said. "Not while I breathe."

The King laughed a sound that made soldiers drop to their knees.

"Then die."

A bolt of shadow launched toward them.

Alex reached out, grabbed Mordeclai's hand.

"Take my hand."

He looked at her, shocked by the power blazing through her palm. He took it without hesitation.

She pulled him up beside her, their feet lifting from the ground as wind swirled around them. Together they rose into the air, glowing like two stars against a storm.