*Chapter 20*

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In a blink of an eye the light and dark collided, a big explosion of power going off, everything in its path disappearing. But as soon as the magic appeared it faded, the battlefield remaining eerily still. Dawn and Dusk, lying side by side, could barely move. Their breaths were ragged, their bodies spent from the immense strain of the power they had unleashed. Around them, soldiers from both Solara and Lunaris stood frozen in disbelief, their weapons lowered, the battle they had prepared for over in a way no one could have predicted.

The sky above remained split—one half gleaming with Solara's eternal sunlight, the other shrouded in the dark hues of Lunaris. It was as though the very heavens were unsure of what had just occurred, uncertain of what to make of this new balance that had emerged from the collision of light and shadow.

"It's over," Dusk repeated, his voice weak, but there was a sense of disbelief in his words.

Dawn, still catching her breath, turned her head slightly to look at him. "For now," she replied softly, her voice filled with quiet understanding. "But nothing will ever be the same again."

They both knew the truth. The destruction of Erythra was a victory, but it had come at a cost. The very essence of their world had shifted. The power they had unleashed wasn't just a weapon—it was something new, something that could reshape the balance between their kingdoms, perhaps even between life and death itself. Neither light nor dark had triumphed. They had fused together, creating a force that transcended everything they once knew.

As they lay there in the aftermath, the first to move was Sir Arlen, Dawn's trusted knight. He stepped forward from the ranks of Solara's soldiers, his armor still gleaming under the fading sun, and approached his princess. His eyes were wide with awe, but he managed to pull himself together as he knelt beside her.

"Princess," he said gently, his voice thick with emotion. "Are you all right?"

Dawn tried to nod, but her muscles ached from the overwhelming force of the magic. "I'll be fine," she whispered, though her body screamed otherwise. She glanced over at Dusk, who was now being helped by his own advisors, his face pale but determined. "We both will."

Dusk's eyes met hers, and for a moment, there was no need for words. They had been through the impossible together, and something deeper now bound them. Not just an alliance between two kingdoms, but a connection forged in the fire of a battle against an ancient evil. It was as if they had become two halves of a whole, their magic proving that neither light nor shadow could exist without the other.

The soldiers around them, from both kingdoms, began to stir. Whispers passed between them—words of disbelief, of wonder, of confusion. What had just happened? How had they witnessed the end of Erythra, a force that had been feared for centuries? How had the powers of two kingdoms, long divided, come together in such a way?

King Silas approached, his once proud figure now tempered with the weight of everything he had seen. His eyes moved from his daughter, who had risked everything, to the prince of Lunaris, the boy he had once thought of as an enemy. He knelt down, his armor creaking as he reached out a hand to Dawn.

"You have done what no one believed possible," he said softly, his voice filled with both pride and sorrow. "You saved us."

Dawn took her father's hand, struggling to sit up. "We saved each other," she corrected him. Her eyes moved back to Dusk. "Solara and Lunaris—together."

King Silas hesitated, then nodded, his gaze moving to Dusk. "It seems the time for division is over."

The rulers and warriors of Lunaris, still gathering around their prince, looked hesitant at first. They had lived their entire lives believing the light was their enemy, just as Solara's people had feared the dark. But now, seeing their prince standing side by side with Dawn, knowing what they had just accomplished together, something shifted. Slowly, the walls between them began to crumble.

Dusk pushed himself up with the help of his advisors, his legs shaky but his spirit unbroken. "The war we prepared for was against each other," he said, his voice hoarse but resolute. "But the real battle was with ourselves—with the lies we believed. We saw the truth today."

Dawn managed to stand, despite the lingering pain in her body. "This is just the beginning," she said, addressing both kingdoms. "The old ways cannot continue. We must rebuild—not just our lands, but our understanding of each other. Light and shadow are not enemies—they are both part of this world, part of us."

The soldiers and advisors from both sides stood silent for a long moment, absorbing the magnitude of her words. Then, slowly, one by one, they began to lower their weapons to the ground, a sign of peace.

Dawn and Dusk looked at each other, exhaustion etched into their features but a new sense of purpose burning in their eyes. The battle with Erythra had ended, but their work was far from over. They would need to reshape not just their kingdoms, but the very balance of their world—a balance that had shifted in ways no one had ever imagined.

As the sun and shadow intertwined above them, casting the battlefield in a strange, beautiful glow, Dawn and Dusk stood united, ready to face whatever came next. The journey ahead would be long, and the scars of the past would take time to heal, but they had done the impossible.

Together, they had forged a new beginning.

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