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Holland then tells Sera she’s had many lives, and Eythos remembered the first one: Sotoria.

As they discuss the Rot, Holland says life has only continued because the ember was in Sera’s bloodline. However, she now carries the only ember of life there is, and if she perishes, everything everywhere will die with her.

He goes on to say that the Primal God of Life is the most powerful being in all the realms and that she’s never been merely mortal; she’s the possibility of a future for all.

When Sera’s doubt creeps in, Holland reminds her that she’s a warrior, just like Sotoria learned to be. He adds that he doesn’t know what Sotoria originally looked like—he didn’t follow her threads until Eythos asked what could be done about Kolis’s betrayal—but he knows she didn’t look the same with each rebirth. He then tells Sera that Kolis may have sensed traces of eather in her and thought she was a godling entering her Culling.

Holland knows what Kolis has been doing to the missing Chosen—turning them into Revenants—but states they are not the only mockery of life he’s managed to create. He details what some of the gods from Kolis’s Court have been up to: creating the Craven.

Not to mention the Ascended…

Holland tells them about the Craven, talks about balance, and alludes to the fact that Sera bringing Marisol back to life had consequences. He confirms it was her time, and Sera’s act needed to be righted. Therefore, the Arae decided who would take her place. Holland asks Sera if knowing that ahead of time would have changed her actions, and she says it wouldn’t have.

Holland reveals that what the god Madis did to Andreia was an attempt to rectify what one of Kolis’s creations left behind and adds that is all he can say without it being considered interference.

He reveals to Sera that Kolis can’t kill Nyktos because life cannot exist without death, and they should not be one and the same. He adds, however, that anything is possible, even the impossibility of a Primal of both Life and Death. He says that such a being would be unstoppable, and there would be no balance. The Fates ensured long ago that the absence of either ember—life or death—would collapse the realms. Suddenly and absolutely. He says that if Kolis kills Nyktos, he’ll kill himself and everything else in the process. He ends by saying he doesn’t actually know what Kolis’s end goal is.

When they discuss what led to the present moment, Holland admits that he couldn’t tell Sera how pointless her duty was and outlines that the mortal realm has a year—maybe two or three if they’re lucky—before the Rot consumes it, but warning the people would only incite panic.

Sera seems a bit crestfallen, and Holland reminds her not to give up hope, bringing up the broken thread and saying that fate is never written in bone and blood. It can be as ever-changing as her and Nyktos’s thoughts and hearts.

She reminds him that Nyktos can’t love, and he tells her that love is more powerful than even the Arae can imagine.

Before they part ways, she asks if she’ll see him again, and he can’t answer. He does remind her of something she already knows, though: All her training wasn’t a waste. She is his weakness. Only it’s not Nyktos. It’s Kolis.

OTHER PRIMALS AND GODS

Click here to see this image full size. Gods portraits by Creatively Agnes, layout by Hang Le.

PHANOS

Primal God of Sky, Sea, Earth, and Wind

Court: Triton Isles

Click here to see a full-size image of Phanos’s crown by Creatively Agnes.

Hair: Bald.

Eyes: Silver.

Body type: Very tall.

Facial features: Burnt umber skin.

Other: Crown shaped like a trident.

Background: Destroyed Phythe after the games honoring him were discontinued—sent waves taller than any Rise to wash away the entire kingdom. Hunted down many of the gods who left his Court after—Saion and Rhahar only escaped because Nyktos claimed their souls.

PHANOS’S JOURNEY TO DATE:

Attends the coronation with the other Primals.

Speaks to Saion and Rhahar briefly and then walks off with Embris.

When Kolis brings Seraphena to him off the coast of Hygeia, he hates what he’s forced to do—especially since he should be paying Nyktos back for stealing Rhahar and Saion from him.

He tells Sera that he should just take the embers from her and says what he’s doing isn’t even worth it since it’s only a temporary fix. Then, he breathes life into her and has his ceeren sacrifice themselves to save her.