We had come full circle.
And the war had finally begun.
Rheon
The bond that burns Bright
The palace loomed before us like a black wound against the blood-colored sky. Demonic guards lined the path, their snarling faces twisted in fury — but we didn’t slow.
Not when the bond was screaming.
Not when I could feelher.
My shadows slithered across the blood-slicked stones, ripping through enemy lines. Yuna moved beside me, her fae fire illuminating the night, blades dancing like flame. Minji stood behind her, casting protective sigils so fast her fingers were a blur — fierce and defiant.
“Keep pushing!” I shouted.
Taeyang surged forward like a storm, his battle cries low and guttural. Every time I looked, he was watching Yuna — even in the middle of the chaos.
And Jisoo—
His wings were out.
Shadowed, ethereal, bleeding light and fury. He moved like death, silent and terrifying. But when his eyes met Minji’s, something softened. Briefly.
And then—
The bond burned.
A searing heat against my chest, as if my heart had caught fire. I staggered mid-strike, gasping, hand clutching at the mark.
“Rheon!” Jisoo shouted, slicing down a guard.
“She’s close,” I growled, eyes wide. “She’s in pain.”
I didn’t wait.
Icouldn’t.
I let the bond pull me, dragging me through halls slick with blood, past smoking corpses and shattered stone. I ran faster than I ever had — faster than when I’d fled my father’s wrath, faster than the night I met her blade.
Ifelther.
And when I reached the throne chamber doors, Taeyang and Jisoo beside me, I didn’t hesitate.
I exploded them off their hinges with a blast of pure shadow.
The smoke cleared.
And I saw her. Crowned. Glowing. Beautiful in a way that stopped my breath. Wearing power like it was stitched into her skin. My body moved before my mind could catch up.
“SEORI!”
Her name tore from my chest like a prayer, like a scream, like a lifetime of yearning breaking through the walls I’d built.
And for one terrifying, breathtaking second—
She turned.
