The ground split beneath them. Fire roared outward, bright and wild, but it no longer burned alone. Crystal shards spun through the blaze, sharp and steady, weaving with the flames until they became one.Everett staggered as the surge burst from his chest. His chains blazed white-hot, wrapping around Kael’s small frame. But instead of binding him down, they lifted him. Together, boy and man stood at the storm’s center, fire and crystal spiraling around them like a living shield.Kael’s glowing eyes widened, his small lips parting. “Everett… we… we’re not fighting each other anymore. It’s us. Together.”Everett’s breath came ragged, his face soaked with sweat and tears. He nodded, his voice rough. “Yes. You’re not alone. Not ever again.”The blast expanded. Soldiers screamed as crystal fire tore through their lines, weapons melting, armor shattering. The Shroud’s laughter turned to shrieks as their twisted bodies burned and broke apart, their leader clawing the air before vanishing

The chains screamed like living things. Everett clutched Kael tight, his fire blazing uncontrolled, sparks bursting from every link. Kael cried against his chest, his shards flaring sharp, his small body twisting with pain. Varik’s cracked blade pressed deeper into the bond, its crystal edge humming like a predator’s song. Everett roared, his voice breaking. “Stop! You’ll kill him!”Varik’s calm voice answered, steady as stone. “Not kill. Reveal.”The light burst. Everett’s sight shattered. The battlefield vanished. Smoke, soldiers, and screams dissolved into white fire and crystal storm. He staggered, Kael still in his arms, but when he blinked, they were somewhere else. A cavern of endless black stone. Shards hung from the ceiling like frozen stars. A fire burned in the center, too bright to look at. And bound in chains before it was a figure. Not a boy. Not Everett. Not Kael. A woman.Her body glowed faint like Kael’s, her chest burning with fire, her arms wrapped in crystal bi

Varik’s cracked blade hovered over Kael’s small chest, its crystal edge humming faintly. The boy trembled in Everett’s arms, his glow almost gone, his breathing shallow.Everett’s whole body shook. His fire sputtered, his chains rattled weak. His eyes locked on the blade above Kael’s heart, and he felt his own chest ache as if it were already pierced. “Stop,” Everett whispered, his voice broken. “Please…”Varik’s pale face stayed calm. His voice was soft, patient. “I don’t want to kill him. I want to save him from what’s coming, but it requires your choice, Everett. Give me the bond. Surrender it willingly. Bind yourselves to me, and he lives.”Everett’s tears blurred his vision. His arms wrapped tighter around Kael. His voice cracked louder. “You’re lying! You only want to own him! To own us!”Varik tilted his head, his calm eyes narrowing just slightly. “And if that is true, what does it matter? He breathes. He lives. Is that not enough for you?”Kael stirred weakly, his trembling h

Everett screamed into the void. Kael was dissolving in his arms, his small body glowing faint, breaking apart into drifting fragments of light. Each shard that left him pulled tighter on the chains wrapped around Everett’s chest, carving pain deep into his heart.“No! Stay with me!” Everett clutched the boy tighter, his fire flaring wild, sparks bursting from every link. “Don’t you dare leave me!”Kael’s glowing eyes flickered open, wet with tears. His lips trembled. “I… I don’t want to. But it hurts… Everett… it hurts so much.”Everett pressed his forehead to Kael’s, sobbing hard. “Then let it hurt me. Not you. I’ll take it all, I swear, I’ll take it all.”The chains pulsed, their light flaring brighter for a heartbeat. Fire and crystal surged, pulling Kael’s fading glow back together, but only just. His form flickered, still weak, still breaking.Varik stood across the broken plain, his jagged blade humming with calm menace. He didn’t rush. He didn’t strike. He simply watched, pale

The light pressed in from every side. Everett held Kael in his arms, the boy’s small frame flickering, half-there and half-vanished, as if the heart itself were trying to tear him apart. Chains rattled violently inside Everett’s chest, searing him with each beat. The voice of the heart boomed again, vast and cold. “Choose. Fire or light. One will bind. One will break.”Everett shook his head furiously, clutching Kael tighter until his arms trembled. “No! I told you, I’m not choosing! You can’t make me!”Kael stirred weakly, glowing eyes wet with tears. His voice came soft, frightened. “Everett… if you give yourself, maybe I’ll stay. If you give me up, maybe you’ll live. Either way…” His voice cracked. “One of us goes.”“Stop it.” Everett pressed his forehead against Kael’s, his voice breaking. “Don’t even think that. I’m not letting you go, and I’m not leaving you. We both stay. Do you hear me? We both stay.”Kael’s lips quivered. He nodded, though his glow flickered weakly. “Both.”