The chamber shook with every breath. Jonah’s claws locked against Kevin’s, golden light spilling between them in violent bursts. The sound was like thunder trapped inside a cage. The floor cracked under their feet, splitting open in glowing lines.Jonah’s teeth clenched. His body trembled. His skin burned where the Hive fire tried to crawl free.Kevin’s face twisted, half-human and half-monster. His golden eyes blazed, but they were wet with tears. “Stop, kid!” Jonah shouted over the roar. “You’re stronger than this. Don’t let it control you!”Kevin’s claws pressed harder. His small body shook. His lips parted, and his voice came out broken, layered with Hive whispers. “I, can’t.”The Hive roared through him. “He is ours.”The whispers tore at Jonah’s skull. They slid under his skin, heavy and suffocating. “End him. Strike now. He is weak. You are not.”His claws grew longer, glowing brighter. His breath came out ragged. His reflection in the pulsing wall was not human anymore, eyes

The chamber shook like a living storm. Flesh tore from the ceiling and splattered to the floor.Cracks glowed across the ground, spilling rivers of golden fire. The Hive screamed through every wall, its voice endless and crushing.Jonah stood in the center, claws blazing. His chest heaved, blood dripping down his side. His golden eyes burned with fury, but also with fear.Before him rose Olos, no longer a man, but a monster of veins and bone, crowned with jagged horns of gold. His voice thundered as he spread his long arms. “You cannot stop me, Jonah. I am the Hive. I am the end.”And beside him, trembling, was Kevin. The boy’s small hands glowed with claws he could not control. His body jerked as if pulled by invisible strings. His golden eyes filled with tears, but they shone too brightly, overtaken by the Hive. “Jonah,” Kevin whispered, voice broken. “I can’t, stop,”Jonah’s heart twisted. His claws dug into the shaking floor. He looked at Kevin, then at Olos. His breath came out

The cocoon was gone. Kevin now stood on the chamber floor, glowing brighter than ever.His small body trembled, but his golden eyes burned with unnatural fire. Veins of light spread across his skin like cracks in glass. His hands hung at his sides, claws of pure energy forming and fading with every breath.Jonah froze a few steps away, chest heaving, blood dripping down his arm. His claws were still out, blazing faintly, but his hands shook. “Kid,” Jonah’s voice cracked. He swallowed hard, forcing the word again. “Kevin. It’s me.”Kevin lifted his head slowly. His glowing eyes met Jonah’s, empty yet full of something ancient. His lips parted, and the words that came out were layered, wrong. “We, are Hive.”Jonah’s chest clenched. He shook his head. “No. You’re Kevin. You’re my boy.”Kevin’s face flickered for the briefest second, pain, fear, but the glow swallowed it. His claws snapped fully into form, long and sharp, dripping golden sparks.Olos’s laughter boomed through the chamber

The Hive’s core shook like the end of the world. The walls tore open, golden fire pouring out like rivers. The air was thick, heavy, burning to breathe.Jonah’s claws were buried in Olos’s chest. Golden blood poured down both of them, sizzling on the floor. Olos roared, his monstrous body thrashing, wings of light and bone spreading wide. “You, cannot, kill me!” Olos’s voice shook the chamber, echoing from every wall. “If I fall, the Hive falls with me, and you fall too!”Jonah gritted his teeth, his golden eyes blazing. His chest heaved, blood dripping from his mouth. He could feel it, every strike he made against Olos tore deeper into himself. The Hive inside him screamed, twisting his veins, trying to break him apart, but none of that mattered. Because behind him, “Jonah!”Kevin screamed as the light pulled at him, dragging his small body toward the collapsing heart of the Hive. His arms flailed, his claws sparking, his terrified eyes reaching for Jonah.Jonah’s heart tore in tw

The night was drowned in golden light. Jonah stood in the ruins, claws glowing, his chest heaving. Around him, thousands of zombies knelt in silence. Their glowing eyes stared up at him like worshippers bowing before a god. The air was heavy, charged, full of something Jonah couldn’t escape. Kevin clutched his arm tightly, his small body trembling. His eyes darted from the kneeling horde to Jonah’s blazing veins. “Jonah,” Kevin’s voice cracked. “Why, why are they bowing to you?”Jonah’s claws trembled. He forced them to fade, but the glow in his veins remained, burning bright under his skin. His voice came out rough, heavy. “I didn’t make them do it. They just obeyed.”Kevin’s tears shone in the golden light. “But that’s what Olos did. That’s what the Hive does.”Jonah’s heart twisted. He knelt down, grabbing the boy’s shoulders, looking him in the eye. “Listen to me. I’m not Olos. I’m not the Hive. I’m still me. I swear it.”Kevin swallowed hard, searching his face. For a moment,