The Hive chamber shook as Kevin screamed. His small body arched, his glow flickering weak and broken. Black fire wrapped around him like chains, searing into his skin, forcing its way inside. His eyes, once bright with golden light, began to cloud with red veins, dark smoke rising from his mouth. “Jonah!” he cried, his voice sharp with pain. “Help me!”Jonah’s claws blazed gold as he lunged forward, grabbing the boy’s shoulders. His fire flared, trying to burn the black away. But every time his flames touched the shadow, it hissed and clung tighter, feeding deeper into Kevin’s chest. “Get out of him!” Jonah roared, golden fire pouring from his hands.Kevin screamed louder, his small body shaking as if Jonah’s fire was burning him too. Jonah froze, his chest splitting with terror.If he pushed harder, he might kill him. Hive-Jonah’s laughter echoed through the chamber, cruel and deep. Its broken, smoking body swirled in the smoke around Kevin. “Don’t you see, Jonah? He was always mi

Jonah sank. The black sea swallowed him whole, pressing against his fire like cold stone. Shadows whispered in his ears, voices scraping across his mind. His golden fire flared, fighting back, but the deeper he went, the heavier the dark became.Still, he pushed down, eyes burning. “Kevin,” Jonah growled, his voice muffled in the thick dark. “Hold on. I’m coming.”Below, faint and far, a small glow flickered, Kevin’s light. Weak. Fragile. Drowning in the endless abyss. Shadow hands wrapped around it, pulling it deeper into a pit that seemed to have no end.Jonah’s fire roared hotter. He forced his body downward, ripping through the dark waves. Each movement was heavy, like swimming through tar, but his claws slashed the shadows apart, carving a path. “Jonah!” Kevin’s faint cry reached him, shaking his heart.Jonah bared his teeth. “Don’t give up! I’ll reach you!”But then the sea shook. A shape rose from the depths. Hive-Jonah. Not the broken form from before. Not the twisted mirror

Jonah floated in silence. The white void stretched endlessly around him, calm and empty. No sea, no shadows, no whispers. Only stillness.His body trembled, his fire dim. He could feel every wound from the battle, every cut, every burn. But Kevin was safe in his arms, and that was enough.The boy’s small glow flickered faintly, warm against Jonah’s chest. Kevin looked up at him, weak but smiling. “We did it,” Kevin whispered. His voice was soft, almost fragile. “We beat it… didn’t we?”Jonah looked down at him, his golden eyes heavy. He wanted to say yes. He wanted to tell the boy it was over, that the nightmare had ended, but something deep in his chest told him otherwise.The silence was wrong. Too heavy. Too still. Jonah tightened his grip around Kevin. His voice came out rough. “Stay close. Don’t let go of me.”Kevin nodded, his small hands clutching Jonah’s torn shirt, then the first crack appeared.A thin black line split across the empty white, jagged and sharp. It spread slowl

The chamber trembled as the Hive Heart thundered above them, its rhythm quickening, echoing like war drums through Jonah’s skull. Every beat sent another wave of red light through the veins in the walls. Every beat called more monsters.Jonah stood panting, claws burning bright, Kevin still clutching his sleeve. The boy’s glow flickered like a dying candle, but his eyes stayed fixed on Jonah’s. “Don’t let it win,” Kevin whispered. “Don’t let it turn you angry.”Jonah’s chest rose and fell. His claws trembled with rage, but slowly, he forced his fire to steady. His breath slowed. His eyes, though still glowing gold, sharpened with focus instead of blind fury. “You’re right,” Jonah said softly. “It wants me to lose control. If I do, we’re finished.”Kevin nodded weakly, clutching tighter to Jonah’s hand, but the Hive wasn’t finished.The walls bulged again, spilling out more of the sleek, sharp creatures. Dozens of them, their claws scraping the floor, their glowing red eyes fixed on

The chamber echoed with the sound of claws scraping stone, fire cracking like thunder, and Kevin’s strained breathing. Jonah stood bleeding, fire flickering weakly around him, while the Vessel loomed with its many arms stretching wide, claws dripping black slime that smoked when it hit the floor.The monster grinned, its red eye blazing. “Every strike you give me only feeds my form. You can fight forever, Jonah, but in the end, you’ll die, and the boy will be mine.”Jonah spat blood and raised his claws again. His legs shook, but his golden eyes never wavered. “Over my corpse.”The Vessel laughed, a deep, layered sound that shook the walls. Then it attacked.The beast came down like a hurricane, six massive claws slashing in arcs of black fire. Jonah met it head-on, his claws sparking gold against red, each strike echoing like steel against steel.The first blow drove Jonah to his knees. The second tore a gash across his arm, blood sizzling in his fire.Kevin cried out, pressing har