[ME] the dream doesn't end when our eyes open

the gray sky was vast and real cryptic above me

A flash of starlight and Safrin is there, her radiance infusing him with a warmth and comfort he did not realize he desperately needed. Koa inhales his awe and wonder, copper eyes adoring as they take in his patron's form. Her light fills the empty streets of Stormbreak, flowing out like a tide of starlit sea to encompass anyone who is left... including the trio who stand before her, the final keepers of their home's demise.

When the light finally reaches him, it is like stepping into a warm sauna after the world's longest day; exhaustion washes from his shoulders like dust in the rain. He looks to his friends - to Zavien and Sohalia, heroes of his city, dearest to his heart. And then he turns his eyes back to Safrin, nodding with a grateful smile. "Thank you, Safrin. I'm ready." He may not know what the future will bring them, but for the first time since he learned his home would be destroyed, Koa feels something resembling hope.

---

Koa is ready to be taken from SB!

Koa

I wanted you to love me like you used to do

Zavien

The sky glows, starlight coalescing in the familiar image of the goddess, regal and comforting. Her light pushes the darkness to the far recesses of his mind, exhaustion fleeing in her presence. He takes a deep breath, offering her the smallest of smiles in greeting, lined with sorrow that no longer threatens to suffocate him. It's a quiet acceptance he wears, thick to keep him in the present, allowing him to appreciate this last moment, this gift that Safrin gives them. 

Her words ring loud in his head before blooming bright in his chest, a miniature galaxy pressing against his skin as emotions swirled. It cracks at the composure, stretching his control tight. He raises his watery eyes to her, not daring to diminish her praise by blushing from the attention or letting tears fall. He stands resolute, letting her praise settle on the strong shoulders he lowers in a respectful bow. "You honor me, Safrin."

Straightening, he takes a deep breath along with the goddess, watching as her magic spreads like a lifeline to save those who might be taken down with the city. Whereas the buildings had seemed vacant before, they now feel lifeless, like even the souls of plants and the smallest of lifeforms have been relocated somewhere else, somewhere safe, and it gives him a sense of peace, like their work has been done. 

His head nods as his throat tightens, his voice strained as he said, "Thank you, Safrin." Zavien looks to the orb of bright light then to his friends as they voice their consent and finally landing on the goddess again. "We're ready." It feels like a lie. They aren't ready to lose their home. But no matter how long they wait, or how many words they say, or how much the ground shakes, they never will be. So Zavien has to settle for how they are now, perhaps not ready to let go of their home, but ready to take that next step towards something different, something new, something unknown. And when Safrin's magic encompasses him, Zavien loosens his heart's hold on Stormbreak, doing his best to keep it whole as he departs the only home he's ever known. 

---

Zavien agrees to let Safrin take him from Stormbreak.

There's some good in this world,

and it's worth fighting for.

every bait and switch was a work of art

Safrin inclines her head, her gaze moving from Sohalia to Koa, and finally to Zavien, holding each of them in turn as though fixing their faces among the stars. There is pride there, and sorrow, braided together so tightly they cannot be separated.

The motes of light before them swell, brightening until they are no longer points but warm, enveloping auras. They expand gently, wrapping around each of them like starlit cloaks—weightless, protective, impossibly soft—and the trembling of Stormbreak fades beneath the steady certainty of her magic. As the light takes hold, Safrin’s voice follows them, not carried by sound but by something deeper, more intimate.

For Koa, the stars turn cold and clean, the air sharpening as Halo rises to meet him. You stood your ground when the world broke beneath your feet, her whisper tells him. You guarded your people until the very end. Carry that courage with you, it is brighter than any home.

For Zavien, the light bends toward King’s End, warm and resolute. You bore the weight no one else could, Safrin’s voice says softly. You chose your people over your heart, again and again. That strength is yours forever. Let it steady you when the grief comes.

For Sohalia, the glow shifts toward Torchline, salt and sun threading through the starlight. You gave yourself to preservation, to memory, to hope, Safrin murmurs. What you saved mattered. What you carried mattered. And it will bloom again, in ways you cannot yet see.

Starlight fills their bones, lightening the worst of the ache without erasing it; enough to keep them standing, enough to carry them through the first unbearable moments without breaking.

Then the light lifts them away. When the glow finally recedes from the skyship and the dock stands empty, Stormbreak is truly alone, its people gone, its souls spared, its fall imminent. Safrin remains only a moment longer, watching the city strain toward its final breath, her expression unreadable beneath the stars. And then she, too, is gone, leaving the city to crumble and fall.

~FIN

you're the one prize i'd cheat to win