The black gas didn't hesitate.
It surged down Queen Sharley's throat, burrowing deep into her core.
It began a systematic destruction from within.
"Enough..." Sharley gasped, her voice a mere shadow of its former power.
"It is enough."
The black field surrounding her flickered violently before dissolving.
The towering obsidian manifestation vanished like smoke in the wind.
As the darkness lifted, the sight before Liuke was a nightmare.
Yui had been reduced to a pile of grey ash.
Of Lak, there wasn't even a trace left. They were gone.
"Why is this happening?" Liuke cried out, tears streaming down his face.
"Is it because of this Solar Core? Then I'll just end it right here!"
He stiffened his fingers, channeling his remaining power into a lethal point.
He aimed at his own throat, ready to pierce it, when a hand caught his wrist.
It was the Queen. She had moved with startling speed to stop him.
"Who told you to do this?" Sharley whispered.
"You don't need to destroy yourself."
"Today... for the first time in years, I felt the love I once had for my son."
"I am the cause of all this!" Liuke sobbed. "I have to die!"
SLAP.
Sharley struck him across the face, her expression stern yet mournful.
"Stop blaming yourself. This is not your fault," she said.
"I was the one who was selfish. I was obsessed with my children's lives."
"I ignored the practical ways to save them. I chose the path of shadows."
"The kingdom?" Liuke looked at her in disbelief.
"These are the same people you just slaughtered!"
"I know..." Sharley looked away, her voice cracking.
"I know I am not a good ruler. I was a tyrant who ruled through fear."
"No apology will ever be enough. I am ready for it to end."
"This gaseous demon," Sharley continued, clutching her chest.
"It has almost entirely devoured my Negative Core."
"There is nothing left for me now but death."
"Look at my eyes... they are turning black. My hands are withering."
"Perhaps death is the only true penance left for me."
She reached out, her gaze softening.
"But Liuke... you must not die. You are my last hope."
"Hope for what?"
"You look so much like Wysar," she smiled weakly.
"My final wish before I go is this... live. Stay alive and find Wysar."
"Please... find him. Tell him that no one hates him anymore."
"Tell him his mother loved him more than anything..."
"And that in her final moments, he was the only thing she remembered."
Suddenly, Sharley collapsed.
She lay there, lifeless and still, as the soft snow began to fall over her.
The battlefield had fallen into a deafening silence.
Liuke looked up at the grey sky, his heart heavy.
"This silence," he whispered, "is truly poisonous."
Elysia's eyes fluttered open in a small, dimly lit room.
Sensing danger, she sat up abruptly, searching for a weapon.
Then, she saw him. Liuke was standing by the window.
"What are you doing near me?" she asked, her voice laced with panic.
"Your Queen is dead," Liuke said flatly.
The words hit Elysia like a physical blow.
Her heart shattered, and she began to sob silently.
Liuke stood by, giving her the space to grieve in the heavy stillness.
Finally, Elysia composed herself, wiping her eyes.
"How... how did she die?"
"The Commanders didn't do it," Liuke explained.
"It was an unknown black gas beast. It destroyed her from the inside."
"Her last wish was for me to live and to find her son, Wysar."
Elysia took a shaky breath.
"If that was her final wish, then I will make sure it is fulfilled."
Elysia walked over to Liuke.
She bit her lip and let her own dark blood fall onto Liuke's severed arm.
Before his eyes, Liuke's arm began to reconstruct.
Atom by atom, the flesh and bone knitted back together.
"How is this possible?" Liuke stammered, flexing his new fingers.
"I healed you the same way I healed Lunara," Elysia said quietly.
"My blood carries a trace of Negative Energy. It accelerates regeneration."
"Can you... bring back the dead too?" Liuke asked tentatively.
"Yes and no," Elysia replied.
"I can resurrect Ice Monsters, but a Human Core is too complex."
"In our history, only a handful of people have ever managed it."
"Unfortunately... I am not one of them."
"So, what will you do now?" Liuke asked.
"Aren't you going to fix your eye?"
"No," she countered with a faint, sad smile.
"I don't want to fix it. This scar will be a reminder of the Queen."
Elysia carried Sharley's body to the royal burial grounds.
She froze her in eternal ice, alongside the remains of her children.
She set a frost-crystal headstone that read:
The Great Ruler, Queen Sharley, 1772–1820.
Liuke watched from a distance, his eyes solemn.
"It seems so few survived," Liuke remarked.
"This war has taken almost everyone."
"I don't understand," Elysia whispered.
"Why is no one coming to mourn the Queen?"
"Perhaps they are still hiding," Liuke suggested.
"The terror of the battle hasn't left them yet."
Elysia looked at him.
"In the cell, you said you would kill me. Why did you save me instead?"
"Why wouldn't I?" Liuke asked softly.
"Everyone is gone. What would I gain by letting you die?"
He took a deep breath.
"I've decided. Before I go back to Helmora, I'm going to use my energy."
"I'll wake the people who are still trapped in the deep sleep."
Elysia looked at him in shock, a genuine smile touching her lips.
"I thought my core would explode, but I'm still here," Liuke mused.
"I'm going to use my time to find Wysar. Will you come with me?"
"No," Elysia shook her head.
"I have to stay here and look after these people."
"I will stay and guide them. And... thank you."
"For what?"
"For helping others without expecting anything in return," she said.
"Fine," Liuke smirked. "I'll accept your thanks."
A sense of real peace finally settled over the frozen kingdom.