FUSE

Kateiko finally comes face-to-face with her self from an alternate dimension in this epic series closer.

One Kateiko, who goes by Katja, is a medical apprentice who’s recovering from the Fourth Elken War and missing fire mage Tiernan, her older lover and a wanted criminal. When a rift splits open, versions of people she knows enter her world, including her other self, who decides to be called K. K is hunting down tel-saidu Suriel to demand he return her spirit so she may finally find happiness, preferably with her charismatic Iyo-boy, who’s imprisoned back home. Katja and K begrudgingly join forces to save their respective worlds from destruction by sealing the rift. But K believes the saidu in Katja’s world need to be awakened, while Katja and her allies just fought a war to prevent that from happening. The disagreements lead to divergence and distrust, with friends taking sides. Katja is deeply empathic, and her complex love triangle with two Tiernans offers a painful juxtaposition with the much rougher K, whose love for Tiernan is unrequited. As a misunderstood K arduously regains her humanity, which has been greatly damaged since her bonding with Suriel, she finds a love triangle of her own. Helpful exposition throughout, along with a glossary and timeline, will assist readers with this sometimes-overwhelming story’s rich complexity; those with a fresh recall of the previous installments will best appreciate this gratifying series closer with its broadly diverse cast.

A worthy and emotionally charged ending.