The crown of ash hovered inches above Adrielle’s head, trembling like it feared what it was about to touch.

Each fragment pulsed faintly, breathing in time with her heartbeat — or maybe, hers had begun to beat for it.

The air around her rippled, bending light and sound into a heavy stillness. Alex tried to move forward, but his body was dragged back by invisible chains that cut deeper with every step.

“Adrielle—don’t!” His voice cracked through the static. “You don’t know what it’ll take from you!”

But she couldn’t hear him anymore.

The world had gone silent, except for one voice — the voice beneath the veil.

It wasn’t speaking to her.

It was speaking through her.

Her breath caught. The crown melted into smoke, wrapping around her temples like ink dissolving into water. The world folded inward — the ruins, the sky, even Alex’s scream — all swallowed into a single heartbeat.

Then, light.

Maren fell to his knees, his eyes wide as the veil tore open behind her. “She’s crossing… she’s actually crossing.” His voice was a mix of awe and fear. “Adrielle—look at me. Don’t fight it. Let it see you.”

Her eyes snapped open.

Silver bled into her irises. The markings of the veil shimmered across her skin, alive and restless. For the first time, she didn’t just see the boundary — she was the boundary.

And in that instant, Adrielle saw everything.

The thousands who came before. The wars buried beneath the dust of forgotten gods. The truth of Eren’s fall. The way Alex had once begged the veil to return her — and the price he had paid for it.

Tears streamed down her face, but when she looked up, her voice was calm — almost detached.

“It doesn’t consume, Alex. It remembers.”

Alex stared at her, breath trembling. “Then what are you now?”

The faintest smile curved her lips.

“The beginning that comes after the end.”

Behind her, the veil bloomed open like dawn breaking after a storm — light spilling, ancient voices singing her name.

And for the first time since the crown appeared, the world bowed.