The sky of Aether was filled with the smoke of machines that had just been extinguished, remnants of the city's defense from the Vrynn Tribe's attack. At the top of the Observation Tower, Rael gazed at the now calm red sea, his hands trembling as blue-purple energy leaked from the cracks in his split soul.
"You need to rest," Lyra approached, carrying a bowl of warm soup. But Rael refused.
"I don't need sleep. I need answers." His eyes fixed on the medallion around his neck, its faint cracks glowing like the pulse of a painful heartbeat. "Every time I close my eyes, I see them—shadows from another dimension. They're calling me to Lycanthea."
That night, Proto-Supremacy appeared as a hologram in the council room. His face was now more human, but his gaze still pierced through. "Lycanthea is not a place, but the soul of the Creator trapped within. There lies the true key to stopping the Black Moon."
Niro crossed his arms. "And why should we trust you again?"
"Because the Black Moon is not the final enemy. Lycanthea is the core of all dimensions—if it falls into the wrong hands, everything will…"
Before he could finish, alarms blared. The hologram screen displayed Vrynn ships approaching, now with the flag of the Black Moon, its eye wide open.
"Prepare for war!" shouted Dax, activating the ion cannons.
The battle erupted at the dock. This time, the Vrynn Tribe brought hybrid monsters—combinations of fish and machines, with metal claws like blades. Rael jumped into the battlefield, his blue-purple energy exploding uncontrollably, destroying the enemy horde and cracking the ground beneath him.
"Rael, control yourself!" Lyra shouted, dodging flying debris.
But Rael couldn't hear her. In his mind, the voice of the Black Moon whispered, "Lycanthea is your death. And you will free me…"
With a brutal motion, Rael destroyed the Vrynn Tribe's flagship. But as the smoke cleared, a crystal inscription revealed itself at the bottom of the sea—a map to Lycanthea, with the same symbol of the broken sun as the medallion.
"This is a trap," Niro warned while examining the inscription. "The Black Moon purposely allowed us to find this."
But Dax, who had secretly studied Kael's archives, suddenly spoke up. "No. This is your father's handwriting, Rael. He's been here."
In a dimensional submersible, they navigated an underwater tunnel filled with toxic crystals. On its walls, carvings of the Creator battling Lycanthea—a female figure with glass wings and hollow eyes—were etched.
"Lycanthea... not a soul, but the Creator's wife," whispered Dax. "She was betrayed and imprisoned in the core of the dimension for trying to steal the Breath."
At the center of the tunnel, they found a circular chamber with a rotating energy ring. In the center, Proto-Supremacy awaited in physical form— a metal body with Kael's intact face.
"Welcome to the Gate of Lycanthea," he said. "Apologies for the deception earlier. But only this way could Rael fulfill his destiny."
Lyra aimed her pistol. "What destiny? To become the Creator's replacement?"
Proto-Supremacy laughed. "More than that. Rael is the reincarnation of Lycanthea. His hybrid blood is the key to either freeing or destroying her forever."
Rael clutched his head. Flashes of foreign memories flooded his mind:
Young Lycanthea, laughing in a crystal flower garden.
The Creator stabbing her from behind, cursing her into the dimension.
Proto-Supremacy, who was revealed to be an AI created by Kael to oversee this reincarnation cycle.
"You... my father... you created all of this?" Rael sobbed.
"I only ensured the cycle of sacrifice continued," Proto-Supremacy replied coldly.
Suddenly, the Black Moon emerged from the energy ring, now resembling Lycanthea with pitch-black eyes. "Unite with me, Rael. We will destroy this betrayer!"
Proto-Supremacy launched an attack, but Rael's chaotic energy unexpectedly opened a portal to the Lycanthea dimension. Inside, a floating crystal city lay in ruins, filled with the bodies of dimension souls trapped there.
"Choose, my Son," Proto-Supremacy hissed. "Destroy Lycanthea and become the hero, or free her and repeat the Creator's mistake!"
Rael looked at Lyra, who nodded slowly. With a firm step, he jumped into the portal, the medallion in his hand glowing brightly.
"I choose a third path."
The blue-purple energy exploded, destroying the Gate of Lycanthea. Proto-Supremacy and the Black Moon were trapped in the explosion, while Rael... vanished.
In Aether, Lyra found a blue crystal amidst the ruins. Inside it, the shadow of Rael smiled.
"He's still here," whispered Dax.
But Niro frowned. "Or this is the beginning of a new disaster."
In an unknown dimension, Proto-Supremacy rose again, his body now fused with the Black Moon. "The game is not over, Rael…"