Something was wrong.
I felt it like a spear lodged in my chest — not just from the pain in my bond with Yuna, though that throbbed hot and alive beneath my skin — but from the shift in the magic around us.
Seori.
Rheon.
“We need to go,” I snarled, sliding my blade through the final demon lunging at us, its body crumpling ina cloud of ash. I turned to Jisoo, who was still catching his breath beside Minji.
His eyes met mine, wide with realization. He nodded once.
“He’s in danger,” he said, his voice sharp with urgency.
I turned toward the girls. Yuna stood with blood on her thigh, defiant, chin high despite the pain. Minji’s side was wrapped tight with cloth, her blade trembling in her hand but her gaze steady.
I hesitated for half a breath.
“Can you hold the line?”
Minji nodded.
“We’ve got this.”
Yuna, despite everything — despite the hurt, the confusion, the unspoken words between us — stepped closer.
She touched her chest, where I knew the mark burned just as mine did.
Her eyes met mine, and it shattered something in me.
“I’m not afraid,” she whispered. “Go. Save him.”
I wanted to say something.Everything.But there wasn’t time. I touched her wrist — just a brief, aching contact — and ran.
Jisoo was already ahead, moving like shadow, his wings flickering in and out of visibility as he bolted up the stairs toward the throne platform. I followed, the world narrowing to one single point of fire — where our brother fought the king who had cursed us all.
The screams below faded. The clash of magic above grew louder.
We were almost there.
My feet slammed against the stone steps, each one burning with the heat of ancient magic, the scent of ritual fire thick in the air.
Then— A blast of light. A scream.
“RHEON!”
We crested the final step… and I saw him.
Collapsed on his knees, covered in blood and flame, facing the Demon King — who towered above him like a god of war. Seori was on the ritual altar behind them, glowing, shaking, her lips mouthing something I couldn’t hear — but Rheon could.
And his scream — her name — broke something in me.
Jisoo growled beside me, blade drawn. His wings fully unfurled now — all rage and fury and devotion.
We didn’t wait for orders.
We charged.
Magic screamed through the air — gold and violet clashing like two gods fighting for the sky. My boots slammed into the stone as I fell into step beside Rheon, the heat of his shadow flame burning around us like a living beast. Jisoo came in from the left, blade flashing with angelic fire, his face carved from rage.
