The cocoon split apart with a sound like thunder tearing the sky. Red light spilled into the chamber, blinding, pulsing with a heartbeat that shook the walls. Jonah shielded Kevin with his wings as fragments of hardened flesh and bone rained down. The ground quaked beneath them, fissures splitting the floor wide.From inside the cocoon, a massive claw slid free. Its talons were long as spears, armored in black steel-like bone. Another claw followed, then a leg, then a head that pushed out with a guttural roar. The creature that emerged was larger than anything Jonah had faced. Twice the size of the first Vessel, its body layered in plates of black armor that pulsed with veins of red fire. Spikes jutted from its back like a crown of blades.Its face was twisted, neither beast nor man, but a mask of hunger. Four blazing eyes glowed in its skull, each one filled with the Hive’s endless malice. When it opened its mouth, the voice that came out was no longer just Olos, it was the Hive

Smoke and ash still drifted through the broken chamber. The floor was a crater of cracked stone and burnt flesh, the air thick with the stench of fire and blood.Jonah knelt in the center, his arms wrapped protectively around Kevin. His claws were dull now, faint sparks dancing weakly across them. His wings hung heavy, torn and singed. His chest heaved, every breath shallow, his body screaming in pain.Kevin stirred against him, the boy’s glow barely more than a flicker. His small hands trembled as they gripped Jonah’s chest. His eyes opened halfway, weary but searching. “Is… it over?”Jonah wanted to say yes. He wanted to tell the boy it was finished, that they had won, that the nightmare was done. But his golden eyes lifted through the smoke, and froze.A shadow moved within the haze. Heavy footsteps echoed, each one making the broken ground tremble, then it stepped forward. The Vessel.Its body was burned and cracked, smoke hissing from deep wounds. Its armor was split in several

The chamber was in ruins. The walls cracked, the ceiling trembled, and black fire crawled over every surface like veins of a living nightmare.Jonah was on his knees, blood dripping from his mouth. His claws trembled at his sides. His fire, once a raging storm, now flickered like dying embers.Before him stood the True Vessel, taller and more terrible than before. Its body was covered in writhing black flesh, its four eyes blazing red, and from its chest glowed the faint, twisted light of Kevin’s soul.The Hive’s voice filled the chamber, layered with countless tones, men, women, children, all speaking as one. “Do you see now, Jonah Crest? The boy is mine. He was always mine. You fought fate, but fate devours you.”Jonah clenched his teeth, forcing himself to stand. His legs shook, his wings hung in tatters, but his eyes burned. “I don’t care what you say. I’m not leaving him. Not ever.”The Vessel’s claws twitched, sharp as spears. Its grin widened. “Then die with him inside me.”The

The chamber was silent except for Jonah’s ragged breathing. He held Kevin close, his claws trembling, blood dripping down his torn body. His wings were gone, burned to ash. His fire was a faint flicker, no more than a dying candle.Yet he was still alive. And Kevin was safe. Or so he thought. The ashes in front of them shifted. Jonah stiffened, his golden eyes narrowing. The ground pulsed like it had a heartbeat. From the black dust, something rose.A seed. Small at first, but alive. It pulsed with a sick red light, each beat sending out ripples of shadow across the ground. The veins crawled outward, tendrils snaking toward Jonah and Kevin. The Hive’s voice whispered, soft but sharp, sliding into Jonah’s ears. “Did you think fire could end me? Foolish man. I am not a body. I am not flesh. I am hunger. And hunger cannot die.”Jonah’s grip on Kevin tightened. His body screamed in pain, but he forced himself to rise. His claws shook, faint sparks of fire clinging to them. “Stay away f

Jonah could not breathe. Kevin was in his arms, small and fragile as always, but his glow, the warm light that had saved Jonah again and again, was gone.The boy’s eyes opened slowly. They weren’t golden. They weren’t even dim. They were bright red, glowing like burning coals.And when he spoke, it wasn’t Kevin’s voice anymore. It was deeper. Colder. It was the Hive. “At last… the perfect Vessel.”Jonah’s chest clenched like a blade had pierced it. He shook his head violently, clutching the boy tighter. “No. No, you can’t have him.”Kevin’s lips curled in a cruel smile that didn’t belong to him. “He is already mine. His body, his light, his soul. You carried him to me, Jonah Crest. You fed me with your fire. And now… I am reborn.”Jonah’s claws trembled, golden sparks flickering weakly. His voice cracked with fury and grief. “Get out of him! Right now!”The boy tilted his head, the Hive’s whispers dripping through every word. “Or what? You’ll burn him? Kill him with your claws? End hi