The jagged tear in the sky pulsed once, violently, then began to contract. Not vanishing, but stitching itself shut, the edges knitting together with threads of crackling static and indigo light, centered on the point where Zara's essence met the breach.
As the rift sealed, shrinking rapidly from a devouring maw to a rapidly closing wound, Seraphina's form began to fade. Not consumed, but merging with the sealing static, becoming part of the reinforcement, part of the watchful boundary. Her violet eyes were the last to vanish, holding Zara's gaze until the final stitch was made.
SNAP-SILENCE.
The void rift vanished. The sky above was whole again, the terrifying emptiness replaced by the scarred but stable expanse of aurora-streaked twilight. At its zenith, a faint, intricate star-shaped scar pulsed once with residual static and indigo light before fading to a barely visible silver thread.
