Blinding white light overpowered Lewis; even with his eyes screwed shut, it still penetrated his eyelids. His question had barely left his lips when the flames in the basin erupted. A storm rushed around him, not dissimilar to that during the leyline journey. On the wind, he caught whispers—a word here and there—torn away from his ears before he could decipher them.

As quickly as it had started, it came to an abrupt end, with the light receding and the wind dropping. He opened his eyes to see the endless expanse of desert far below him and the sun slightly higher in the sky. It took him a moment to blink away the light that had burned into his retinas.

He wasn't alone now. In front of him, he saw himself staring back at him, his eyes focused on something behind him. 'What's happening?' he asked. The other version of himself didn't show any signs that they had heard his question. Instead, they stepped forward, passing directly through him as if he weren't there. Lewis turned, following the other version of himself.

The scene before him disintegrated, reforming almost instantly with the sun a fraction higher in the sky. They were no longer alone. Glinting in the sunlight was the crown, resting on the edge of the dark basin, with Edmund and George standing over it. Their voices were muffled, sparks leaping from the basin as the crown began to melt, all the gemstones embedded in it shattering except for one single black stone.

Black smoke began to pour from the stone as it seemed to drain, turning it as clear as a diamond. Why wasn't he doing anything to stop it? He wondered as he watched the other version of himself stand still. He tried to move forward and intervene, but he was held in place by something invisible. With a rush of wind, the black smoke billowed out, throwing him upward into the sky.

With alarming speed, the plateau disappeared into the desert as he was cast away, flailing as if it would help him. Far below, the smoke raced across the sand, engulfing it until the world beneath him was nothing but black. Was this it? Was this what Bijan had seen—the same ending to the questions he had once posed?

The darkness seemed to hold the world for an age. Lewis had no concept of time or the distance that he might have travelled. There were no points of reference, no matter where he looked. At least that was until he spotted a single, flickering orange speck in the blackness. He tried to focus on it, and, to his surprise, it drew closer.

Willing himself closer, it began to grow quickly until he found himself staring down at a stone basin, not too dissimilar to the one at the temple. Darkness pressed in on all sides, but, once again, he saw himself standing motionless, older now. Other figures moved around him, faceless and unknown.

One of them handed him something that glinted in the firelight as they passed. He couldn't see exactly what it was, but the version of himself holding it looked down, puzzled. 'You need to trust me,' a voice he recognised as Russell's said quietly.

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'What choice do I have?' he asked, casting whatever he held into the fire. There was a flash of blinding white light that seemed to emanate out from the basin like a wave, pushing the darkness back ever so slightly.

Before his eyes could adjust again, he felt the wind rush over him, and he found himself standing alone on the plateau once more, exactly where he had been. 'Well, isn't this quite the surprise?' a chillingly familiar voice drawled. He looked around to find that he was not, in fact, alone. Standing on the top step was George, Edmund at his shoulder, a hessian sack clutched in one hand. 'A nice place for a family reunion, don't you think?'

The Spiritbound Stone within him tugged sharply at him, and he found himself diving forward. Knocking George aside, he made to grab the sack in Edmund's hand, but Edmund was too quick. Pulling it out of his reach, he reached out a hand, and Lewis found himself flailing through the air until he came to an abrupt halt as he collided with one of the stone pillars. Groaning, he got to one knee and felt a burning pain in his lower back.

'Why?' he breathed, his eyes on Edmund, no longer paying any attention to George.

'I'm sorry, Lewis; I had no choice,' he said. He reached into the sack, withdrawing the crown. 'He called to me; if I do this, then I can see them again, my wife and daughter.'

'Yes, I know, it's all so tragic,' George groaned, rolling his eyes as he snatched the crown from Edmund's hand. 'No one cares about your dead wife and baby. Now is my time to take my place at his side.'

'George, you don't have to do this. I've seen what happens; there's nothing left,' Lewis said, scrambling to his feet as he drew the sword.

'You really think you're going to stop me?' he asked. With a wave of his hand, the sword flew from Lewis' grasp, clattering across the stone and sliding to a stop at Edmund's feet.

'I don't need to,' he said quietly as the familiar, sweat-drenched form of Captain Caldwell swept up behind him, his blade piercing George's back to the hilt. Behind him, David and Louise, the latter covered in blood, raced around the corner, weapons drawn, with Edward appearing on the other side, a flame crackling in one hand.

George looked down at the blade sticking out of his chest. 'Really?' Maintaining eye contact with Lewis, his mouth twisted into a smile as smoke began to rise from Captain Caldwell's blade, the metal evaporating into thin air. There was no blood on his shirt, not even a mark where the sword had been a moment before. He looked down at the crown in his hand. 'You thought it would be that easy?'

Throwing his hands wide, there was a deafening boom that echoed across the desert, the shockwave knocking everyone else off their feet, Edmund included. 'This is my time,' he hissed, striding towards the basin. 'I will fulfil my destiny and return him to this world so that I may serve at his side. Edmund, you have it with you?'

Lewis looked to Edmund, who was picking himself up once more. 'Edmund, please,' Lewis begged, pulling himself to his feet.

Slowly, Edmund drew a small pouch from his pocket, stepping closer to the basin as George placed the crown on the glowing embers. He pulled the drawstrings open, holding the bag up. For a split second, he hesitated, his eyes finding Lewis' before he upended the pouch, a sparkling purple dust falling from it into the basin.