Zari looked over to Luna and sighed. So many poor souls don't know what's really going on. What's really happening, he thought. He took out his sapphire, and walked over to the table, searching for the seal. He found it, and tucked it in his pocket. To them, it was just a rock with a rune etched on it. Ever since his soul was imprinted in it by the gem-hag when he first arrived, he felt it was done for a purpose.
He shook his head, casting away all of the thoughts, and held the sapphire in the air. The cracks in it were gone, and the sharp pain in his head vanished. He was free to use his gem's power without restraint.
The air in the room turned a frigid cold, and a blast of light emanated from it, striking everything inside. He looked around him. Everything inside the tower was completely covered in a thick layer of frost, freezing everyone solid. In his eyes, he seen his friends. Izzy and has worry across her face, and Luna seemed confused. He walked past their frozen bodies, and to Yasuke. He had pain inside him. Resentment. The sapphire told him the resentment was deep. It told him the truth: Yasuke and Alice were as evil as Lief; they were only evil by force, not by choice. He seen Malani, frozen solid, under the table. She had fear in her eyes. She was a victim in the evil schemes. He turned around, and seen the emerald. It was barely visible under the ice that coated it; in it he could see Lief's scared face. It wasn't fear though, Lief never showed fear, it was anxiety. He knew what would happen if Zari found the seal, and found Rosalie. He looked over to the trapdoor, and on his way down, he seen Alexa. She had surprise and guilt as her expression. She didn't know what to do anymore than anyone else. They never knew. None of them. She was just another victim of the darkness around them.
He climbed down the frozen ladder, and walked down the spire. The steps were slippery, but he wouldn't trip. When he reached the bottom, he seen the slab of force-fused gems. A single tear ran down his eye as he put his hand on it. I was too late. I'm sorry Rosalie. I hope you can forgive me. More tears ran down his eyes, as he stepped back. He took out the seal and held it in his hand. It was a flat rock with a strange symbol etched on it. The symbol glowed a bright blue on the rock, but was hard to see in the dim light. He dropped it, and threw the sapphire against the wall of force-fused gems.
Blue shards scattered across the floor, and the rune on the rock stopped glowing. As long as the seal stayed intact, his soul stayed alive. He knew the moment before he killed himself, that someone of great power would bring him back. He didn't know who, but the sapphire told him someone will. The sapphire held great wisdom the moment before he died, but holding such power without being anchored or fused wasn't safe. He knew his legacy would live on. He knew it was the only way to save them all.
A cold wind surrounded the tower, freezing everything around it. When Zari shattered his soul, the wind subsided. Everything he froze immediately thawed. The forest was alive again, and nothing in it was frozen or covered in frost or snow. The ice got into the cracks of the emerald spire, and when it thawed, it would slowly crumble it apart.
Everyone was unfrozen, as if time had stopped, they remembered nothing of what happened. To them, Zari simply vanished. The tower started to shake as the bottom slowly collapsed. The wall at the bottom fell down, and Mari, Rosalie, and Lexis were released. Their cracked gems regenerated in the green rubble as the tower continuously shook, and was about to topple.