Maiguh listened to the girls' words but showed no reaction. The three girls seemed to vanish shortly after. Onicent, his expression unreadable, regarded his brothers thoughtfully. He composed himself carefully before addressing Maiguh.

  "A leader will need his own space, don't you think?"

  Maiguh pondered the statement. He suspected a trap, but, deep down, he trusted his brother. He believed Onicent had listened to their mother's warning and taken it to heart.

  "I suppose."

  Onicent grinned warmly, as if the thought had never crossed his mind. "I know just the place for you, then."

  Perhaps Maiguh was a fool to trust him. Still, he allowed himself to be led deeper into the cave, the constant assurances from Onicent keeping his trust intact. Dauntice followed quietly behind. Onicent eventually led them to a portal—one that reminded Maiguh of the void where his mother resided. Strangely, it felt like home.

  "Step in, then come back," Onicent instructed.

  "Aren't you coming with me?" Maiguh asked, a trace of suspicion creeping in. Onicent seemed to sense it.

  "I'll be right behind you," he said smoothly. "But it would be rude of me to go first."

  Maiguh wanted to insist, but he didn’t want to seem afraid. Onicent’s words sounded reasonable, just long enough for Maiguh to step into the portal. And then, he was spinning through darkness.

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  He landed on a barren island, suspended in the void, with no clear way back. That was when he realized the truth—he’d been tricked.

  "Mother?" He called into the blackness.

  From far below, something stirred. Then, he felt her presence.

  "My poor, poor child," she crooned, her voice laced with sorrow. "How could your brothers do this?"

  He sat on the edge of the island, the void stretching endlessly before him. For a moment, he considered jumping in to join her. But her voice stopped him.

  "Don’t," she cautioned, her tone gentle but firm. "I have a gift for you."

  A strange sensation rippled through him, and he watched, transfixed, as his body darkened—deep purple, like the void itself. Power surged through him.

  "What have you done to me, Mother?" he asked, his voice a whisper.

  "I have made you Patron of the End," she replied, her voice heavy with sadness.

  "Thank you, Mother," he said, though he didn’t fully understand the implications.

  "I have a second gift," she continued. "You will find it at the other end of this island. Go now."

  With that, Maiguh turned away from his mother's voice and began walking along the island’s length. Already, he felt different. If Onicent challenged him again, he’d fight back. When he reached the far end, he was surprised to find the three girls who had emerged from the lava. Each bowed deeply to him.

  Perplexed, Maiguh asked, "Who are you?"

  "We are your daughters, born of your very blood," the lightest-skinned girl said. "When it touched the lava, our grandmother made us."

  Each girl had a shade of purple in her skin and hair. The girl who spoke first, Dinetee, gestured to the others. "These are my sisters, Endra and Nevlin."

  Maiguh was taken aback to learn he was now a father, but an overwhelming sense of love washed over him for each of his children. They were beautiful, but he could feel the power within them. Ready to aid him. He silently vowed to protect them from the fate that had befallen him.

  He turned to the void, a sense of finality in his words. "Thank you, Mother."