Rask’s voice stayed remarkably steady as she read through the dust and ruin of that buried chamber, even though her hands trembled against the brittle, yellowed pages. Shadows stretched and flickered along the walls, thanks to their weak torchlight, making the shelves full of forgotten records look even more haunted. Aeris barely breathed. The air felt thick, almost heavy enough to choke, all four of them pressed into that tight space, listening.She read, “The subject designated First Host was recovered from a sealed excavation site, fused already to the artifact now catalogued as the Demon Core. Origin of the fusion predates all known imperial record. Subject exhibited remarkable adaptive strength during the initial recovery period, alongside a gradual but measurable shift in temperament consistent with prolonged exposure to the artifact’s influence.”Rask’s voice faltered. She swallowed, then went on.“By the eighteenth month of observation, Subject displayed complete behavioral di

Rask waited until Renner disappeared down the tunnel, waterskin in hand. Only then did she speak, voice low but clear.“I know where she is.”Aeris turned so sharply that Alba’s hand fell away from his sleeve. “You mean the second candidate? You recognized the place?”Rask didn’t look up. “More than that. Thorne told me to prepare her after Stonevale failed. I never told you how close I got, I made it all the way to her front door.”Rhea’s tone was level, unreadable. “So you actually met her.”“Just once. Six weeks ago, in a shrine town called Marrowgate. Four days east, past the salt flats. She’s a kid, ten years old, Isolde Venn. Her mom sells candles outside the shrine.”No one said a word. Alba moved first, crossing the tunnel to stand right in front of Rask.“You said you refused,” Alba said quietly. “You said you ran the night you heard your own name called.”“I did run,” Rask said, jaw working as she forced out the words. “But only after I filed Thorne’s readiness report. I lie

The green door had two locks. Aeris only managed to break one before the chapel bell rang out a second time.He didn’t even wait for the echo. He jammed his shoulder against the door, and let the demon give him just enough strength to rip the other lock straight out of the wood, nothing extra. Behind the door, four guards already had their hands on their swords.They moved like they’d done this before. Without a word, they spread out across the cellar stairs, one high, one low, two on the flanks. The one going low drove his blade at Aeris’s forearm. He felt it bite in as it closed, but he didn’t flinch. Instead he slammed the man into the wall, hard enough that he wouldn’t be fighting anymore, still alive but out of the way. The high one swung for Aeris’s neck. He caught the attacker’s wrist, twisted, and leveraged the man’s own momentum, sending him tumbling down the steps.The demon inside wanted the other two. Aeris could feel that familiar heat, patient and tempting, offering the

They moved north for three long days, no real plan, nothing but the hush of boots on grass, and the steady weight of uncertainty, until Rask finally broke her silence. Even then, her words landed heavy, like she was unloading some burden she didn’t want to carry anymore.“Malric Ossin,” she told them, squatting low beside a last patch of clean earth before the trail angled up into the hills. “Fifth of the Seven, if you ask most, but he’ll insist he’s Third now, with Vane and Belt gone. Ossin doesn’t bother hiding behind a trader’s charm or some soldier’s badge. He never acted like he needed a mask at all.”Aeris stared at her, processing. “So… how long have you known where Ossin was?” he asked, and there was an edge there.Rask kept her eyes down, tracing circles in the dirt. “Since before Millbrook Ferry,” she admitted. She sounded ashamed. “Didn’t want to come here if I could help it, so I saved him for last. Of all the Seven left standing, he’s the one I hoped we could avoid.”Aeri

Ossin didn’t waste time. He spun up another illusion, no fire, no water, nothing flashy this time. Just cold, sharp intent.For a split second after the last echo of the fortress’s ritual lines faded out, Aeris almost let himself unclench, thinking maybe the fight had crested. Ossin had been rattled, maybe even scared, caught by a trap that didn’t finish him off. Aeris actually let himself think Ossin would fall back, run to fight another day. He’d been wrong, of course. He was almost always wrong about people in moments like these.He didn’t see the elbow coming. Alba turned in one fierce, fluid motion and slammed her elbow hard into his throat.It was over before he could process it. She’d been right next to him, shivering and shaky from the vision, and then, just, gone. Her face emptied out, all the warmth and noise in her eyes replaced with something flat and vacant. Her hands weren’t small anymore, they were strong and merciless, and Aeris staggered back, hitting the cracked ston