The sky above the Scourged camp split apart in a swirl of violet flame and voidlight.
Something massive pierced through the haze—armor humming with dark resonance. Every heartbeat in the camp froze.
Zha'Kor raised a clawed hand. "Hold your ground!"
The creature landed with a crash that rippled through the stitched-together decks of the camp. Dust and glowing shards scattered. When the haze cleared, Ryu's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Velgrath?"
The void beast straightened—wolf-faced, plated in bone and shadow—and the tension dissolved instantly. His blazing crimson eyes softened the moment he saw Ryu. With an eager, almost puppy-like noise, the towering Hollow Fang sprinted forward, shaking the entire platform.
"Whoa, whoa—easy, big guy—!" Ryu barely had time to brace before Velgrath scooped him into a crushing hug, tail whipping like an excited storm.
Zha'Kor instinctively flared his wings, ready to strike, but stopped when he saw Ryu laughing.
"You know this … thing?" Zha'Kor asked, disbelief roughening his voice.
Ryu managed to breathe between ribs creaking. "Yeah—think he's one of my brother's … Void Beasts. Definitely has the hugs to prove it."
Velgrath rumbled happily, releasing him only to tug insistently at Ryu's arm, pointing toward the upper sky where faint flashes of battle shimmered. He couldn't speak—his throat emitted only broken echoes—but his intent was clear.
Ryu frowned. "You want me to go?"
Velgrath nodded rapidly, claws clicking.
From behind, Vaelyra peeked out from Ryu's leg, eyes wide. "He's … beautiful."
The Hollow Fang turned, lowering himself so she could see him fully. When the little girl waved, Velgrath tilted his head and gave a low chuff of acknowledgment. The sight nearly melted what was left of Ryu's heart.
Zha'Kor exhaled slowly, the tension easing from his shoulders. "If that beast serves your kin, then the blood of your line runs deep indeed."
He stepped forward, but before he could say more, a sonic crack ripped across the camp. One of the Choir came tumbling through the air, wings shredded, resonance patterns flickering weakly.
"Lord Zha'Kor!" the singer gasped, voice trembling as he landed hard before them. "The Choir — we're under attack!"
"What?" Zha'Kor barked. "By whom?"
"A rebel fleet," the battered Choirman wheezed, clutching his chest. "They call themselves the Crimson Fervor—fanatics from the northern sector. They … ambushed us while we were engaging two mortals who breached the Belt!"
Ryu froze. "Two mortals?"
"Yes," the Choirman rasped. "They fought beside each other … one wielded lightning folded through dimensions, the other a blade of living void. They … they saved me."
Ryu's heart kicked. "Those are my brothers!"
Zha'Kor turned sharply toward him, realization dawning. "Then — the intruders were your kin?"
Ryu nodded, guilt flashing across his face.
The Scourged leader lowered his head. "Then I owe you an apology, Flamebearer. I sent the Choir to confront your family … not knowing what truth burned behind their names."
Vaelyra's small hand trembled in Ryu's. "Papa … are they going to be okay?"
Ryu crouched beside her, smiling faintly. "They will be. They always are."
Before he could stand, the wounded Choirman lifted a shaking arm toward the sky. "I think … something followed me back. A ship— a Crimson Fervor cruiser— it's tracking my resonance signature through the Belt …"
A thunderous boom punctuated his words as a streak of scarlet flame pierced the upper clouds.
Panic erupted across the camp. The Scourged scattered, forming defensive lines, wings spread and weapons drawn.
Ryu looked up at the burning trail, torn between duty and instinct.
"I can't just leave you—"
Zha'Kor placed a massive clawed hand on his shoulder, firm but not unkind. His single good eye gleamed with conviction.
"What kind of ruler would I be if I could not defend my own people?" he said. "Go. Save your brothers. You've already done more for the Scourged than you know."
Ryu hesitated—then nodded
He turned to Vaelyra, who looked on the verge of tears. "Hey … don't worry. I'll be back so we can sing one of your songs, alright?"
She sniffled, then shouted as he ran toward Velgrath's waiting form: "Be safe, Flamebearer!"
Velgrath crouched low, body pulsing with voidlight. Ryu stood beside him, turned glancing at Vaelyra one last time.
"Alright, big guy," he said with a grin that barely masked the storm in his eyes. "Let's go bring my brothers back."
With a roar that split the crimson sky, they launched upward—tearing through the haze and ascending toward the chaos burning above the Belt.
⸻
The crimson haze streaked past as Ryu and Velgrath tore through the orbit like a storm. Metal shards and fractured hulls parted in their wake, trails of embers swirling behind the Hollow Fang's wings.
Ryu leaned forward, the wind screaming in his ears. "Faster, Velgrath! They need us—"
He stopped mid-sentence.
A pulse of heat rolled over him. Not flame—but pressure. Cosmic, immense. It hit him like a tidal wave, making his skin prickle and his eyes widen.
That wasn't from his brothers.
That was from the camp.
Ryu twisted in the air, eyes darting toward the direction they'd come from. Through the haze, he saw it—heat distortion bending light itself, and the unmistakable silhouette of a cruiser hovering above the Scourged stronghold.
"Damn it…" he muttered, chest tightening.
Velgrath slowed, confusion flickering in his red eyes.
Ryu hesitated. His instincts were split clean in two. The bond with his brothers burned like fire in one direction; his responsibility to the Scourged—especially to Vaelyra—pulled him the other way.
The weight was unbearable.
"Velgrath," Ryu said quietly, voice shaking. "Keep going to Onyx and Luto. If they're in trouble, I'll need you to help them until I get there."
Velgrath tilted his head, letting out a low growl of protest.
"I mean it," Ryu said, gripping the creature's face. "They can handle themselves better than the Scourged can if that ship's firing. I'll come back as soon as I can."
Velgrath paused… then lowered his head, eyes glowing in acknowledgment. He understood.
"Good boy," Ryu said with a faint grin, stepping off a platform into freefall. "Now go."
The Hollow Fang roared and shot forward toward the distant light of battleships—while Ryu fell backward into the belt below, flipping midair before bursting into a trail of flame as he rocketed back toward the camp.
The moment he turned, the heat pressure from the cruiser intensified, and that gnawing dread in his gut confirmed it—something was very, very wrong.
⸻
Orbit — Crimson Fervor Flagship "Eclipse March"
The metallic walls vibrated faintly, the ship's engines purring beneath the hum of energy fields.
Inside the brig, two figures sat chained to opposite sides of a reinforced cell.
Luto slumped lazily against the wall, tapping the cuffs that bound his wrists. "You know," he muttered, "for bounty hunters, they have terrible hospitality."
Onyx sat cross-legged, eyes half-open, perfectly calm. "You complain too much."
"I complain accurately," Luto corrected, glancing toward the other side of the cell.
There, bound in the same resonant chains, was Rha'vess—the Sonorous of the Choir, their pale form dimmed and voice quiet.
"Remind me why we're not disintegrating these?" Luto asked.
"They're made of divinely-tempered Nythralite," Onyx said. "I'd have to burn through my arm to break them."
"Ugh," Luto groaned. "Fine. Add that to the list."
He tilted his head toward Rha'vess. "Hey, Choir-boy. You said your leader—Zha'Kor—brought a human with him to the camp, right? That wasn't by chance, was it?"
Rha'vess's eyes widened faintly. "…That name. The human—Ryu?"
Luto's expression softened for just a second. "Yeah. My brother."
The realization hit Rha'vess like a hammer. Their wings sagged. "I … I didn't know. I thought—"
"You thought we were gods," Onyx said flatly.
Before Rha'vess could respond, the brig door hissed open.
Two silhouettes entered—a man and a woman, both in dark rebel gear marked with crimson streaks and the insignia of a burning halo pierced by a spear.
"Well, look what we have here," the man said, whistling as he held up a holo-display. "ONYX — The Reforged Blade. Bounty: eight hundred fifty million Solvyn." He swiped, bringing up another. "And LUTO — The Architect of Folded Time. Seven hundred million."
The woman smirked. "Honestly, I expected more of a challenge."
"Maybe the gods oversold them," the man chuckled. "Or maybe they're just… tired."
Luto's glare could have cut steel. "Keep talking. I'm calculating how many ways I can make you regret it."
Rha'vess turned sharply toward them. "You dare imprison beings who've fought the gods themselves?"
"Yeah," the man said with a grin. "That's the point."
He leaned closer to the bars, voice lowering. "You see, our boss is heading down to that cute little Scourged camp. Says there's a prize down there worth more than all of you combined."
Rha'vess tensed. "The human?"
The woman nodded smugly. "That's the one. The 'Crownless Flame.' If we cash in all three brothers, Crimson Fervor will rule the Auralis Expanse."
Luto's jaw clenched. "You don't even know what you're messing with."
"Sure we do," the man said, grinning as he turned to leave. "Money. Glory. Fear. We're just better at playing the game."
They left laughing, the door sealing behind them with a metallic hiss.
The room fell into silence.
Luto sighed, head dropping against the wall. "Well. That's new. Getting mocked by morons."
Onyx was quiet for a moment. Then, "They took Varkal'Zir."
"They took everything," Luto muttered. "We're basically tourists now."
Rha'vess stirred weakly. "I could … use the Resonant Pulse. Shatter the locks. But it will affect all of us, including you."
Luto stared at him. "Yeah, no thanks. I don't feel like vibrating into soup."
Onyx, however, had that look in his eyes—the one that meant plan forming.
"Wait," he said, a small smirk breaking across his face. "I have another way."
Luto groaned. "Please tell me it's not—"
"It's Kessira."
Luto blinked. "Oh stars, no."
"She's reliable," Onyx said.
"She's absolutely insane Onyx!" Luto snapped. "Last time, that woman would've killed me if I hadn't had my guard up!"
Rha'vess blinked in confusion. "Who is Kessira?"
Onyx ignored him, rolling his shoulders as the shadows around his hands began to twist. "My third void beast. Kessira, the Whispered Thorn. Veiled in shadow petals. Her gaze causes hallucinations; her toxins induce despair."
Luto's eyes widened. "And your plan is to unleash that in a metal box?"
Onyx smiled faintly. "I said it would be risky."
"Risky is ordering spicy noodles on an empty stomach," Luto muttered. "This is suicidal."
Still, as the low hum of void energy began to fill the room, Luto closed his eyes. "Fine. Just—when she shows up, tell her to keep it professional."
Onyx nodded, the air around him darkening. "Everyone—eyes closed. Don't look directly at her."
Rha'vess obeyed instantly.
And as Onyx's cuffs cracked under the weight of his summoning mark, the air temperature dropped.
Petals—black as night, fragrant with a sweetness that bordered on madness—began to fall from the ceiling.
From the shadows, a voice cooed softly.
"Master… you finally called."
The voice slithered through the air—silky, echoing, impossibly close yet everywhere at once.
Luto groaned under his breath. "Oh, this is going to get weird."
The cell fell silent except for the faint sound of petals brushing metal.
All three men—Onyx, Luto, and Rha'vess—kept their eyes closed. Even with his lids shut, Luto could feel the air shift around him: temperature dropping, scent thickening into something floral and faintly poisonous.
"She's here, isn't she?" Luto muttered.
Onyx's voice was calm but quieter than usual. "Yeah."
"And she's standing right in front of you, isn't she?"
"…Yeah."
Rha'vess shuddered. "I can hear her heartbeat," they whispered, "but it's… not inside her body."
Luto groaned again. "Wonderful."
⸻
Onyx inhaled slowly. "Kessira… I need you to focus."
Her voice was soft now, almost mournful. "You haven't spoken to me since the Execution Grounds, master. I thought you'd forgotten me."
"I didn't forget," he said, keeping his eyes closed. "I just didn't want to risk summoning you while things were unstable."
"Unstable," she echoed, like she was tasting the word. "You call dying unstable?"
Luto muttered from the side, "You call this conversation unstable."
"Quiet," Onyx hissed.
For a moment, Kessira said nothing. Then, in a whisper that seemed to come from right beside him, she asked, "Why won't you look at me, Master?"
Onyx hesitated. "Because your eyes have… side effects."
"I wouldn't hurt you," she murmured, voice trembling like wind over glass.
There was a pause—then the faint scrape of movement.
Luto risked a quick peek.
He immediately regretted it.
Kessira was crouched inches from Onyx's face, pale limbs folded like a mantis, her body veiled in hundreds of floating petals that shimmered with dark amethyst light. Her form was tall and lithe, human-like but fluid, her hair made of thorny tendrils that swayed with a mind of their own. A mask of cracked porcelain hid half her face; the other half revealed lips like wilted roses and eyes that pulsed with voidlight—black sclera, silver pupils spinning like whirlpools.
The moment Luto's gaze flicked open, those eyes snapped toward him.
"Ah…" she purred softly. "A little peek?"
Luto clamped his eyes shut again. "Nope! Didn't see anything! Totally closed!"
Kessira giggled—a sound that made the cell walls hum.
Onyx sighed, opening his eyes carefully until he met her gaze.
"Kessira," he said, trying to sound firm.
"Listen. I need your help."
Her expression softened instantly. "You want something from me?"
"Not like that," Onyx said quickly. "We're trapped. I need you to find our weapons. Can you do that for me?"
Kessira tilted her head, pouting slightly. "You don't even say you missed me."
"I did miss you," Onyx said, rubbing his temple. "Happy?"
Her eyes brightened like the sun through glass. "Overjoyed."
"Great," Luto muttered. "Now that the emotional therapy's out of the way…"
Onyx shot him a glare. "Kessira, our weapons. Please."
The void beast smiled sweetly—too sweetly. "And what about the people on the ship?"
"Can you handle them?" Onyx asked.
Her grin widened until it almost didn't look human. "Master," she said, standing to her full height, petals rising in a storm around her, "that's the least I can do."
Rha'vess shivered audibly. "Your creations frighten even me."
Kessira's form shimmered. Her legs dissolved into smoke, her hair and petals twisting together as her body compressed into a living shadow.
In seconds, she was gone—slipping between the cell bars like mist through cracks.
The lights flickered once. Twice. Then silence.
Luto opened one eye cautiously. "Did she leave?"
Onyx nodded. "Yeah."
"Okay," Luto said, leaning back. "If she brings back my weapon, I'll apologize for doubting her."
"She's unpredictable," Onyx replied. "But effective."
From somewhere down the hall came the faintest sound—
a scream, a laugh, then another scream.
Luto exhaled. "Effective it is."
Onyx smirked faintly, eyes glowing dimly in the dark. "Welcome back, Kessira."
____
Aboard the Eclipse March
The lights flickered.
Then the petals began to fall.
Black, weightless, silent—each one humming faintly with void resonance.
A soldier from the Crimson Fervor raised his rifle. "What the hell—?"
The corridor went dark.
From the shadows, a voice drifted through the air, soft and melodic.
"Fear ruins posture, dear. Straighten up."
The man barely had time to blink before something slashed through the air—a blur of thorns and shimmer. His rifle split in half. Then his reflection in his visor moved—smiling—before his visor cracked and his body went limp.
The corridor lights flickered back to life just long enough to reveal her.
Kessira glided forward, not walking but drifting—barefoot, her skin pale as carved marble, her veil of black petals twisting around her like a living cloak. Her steps left blooming imprints of shadow that faded into smoke.
Her porcelain mask caught the dim red light of the alarms as she turned her head.
More soldiers appeared from side passages, shouting over each other. "She's here!"
"No, it's impossible—she's dead!"
"That's the Thorned Wraith! Onyx killed her himself!"
Kessira tilted her head slightly. "Oh… is that what you've heard?"
Her laughter echoed like glass chimes in a storm.
She extended a hand. The petals around her flared outward in a spiral—each one a razor. When they struck the walls, they exploded into a whispering mist that made the soldiers freeze mid-motion, hallucinating shadows that weren't there.
Those who screamed found the sound die in their throats, suffocated by despair.
One soldier stumbled backward, trembling. "You're not real. You're not—"
Kessira appeared in front of him in a blink, pressing a single finger to his lips.
"Shh," she whispered, voice dripping with false sweetness. "Master doesn't like noise."
Then she vanished again.
In less than a minute, the entire corridor was silent save for the sound of faint breathing—and then, none at all.
When the emergency lights returned, she stood alone, surrounded by drifting petals and unconscious bodies.
At her feet lay two sealed containers marked with divine sigils:
Varkal'Zir and Nulvyr.
Kessira smiled faintly. "Found you."
⸻
Back in the Holding Cell
Luto tapped the cell bars impatiently. "So… is this the part where she forgets we exist and redecorates the ship in blood?"
Onyx didn't answer—he was still listening for her through the faint hum of the void.
Rha'vess, however, broke the silence. "You asked earlier… why the Scourged dwell in the Belt."
Luto looked up. "Yeah. You've got quite the unique ecosystem down there. What keeps you trapped in orbit?"
Rha'vess sighed—a strange, harmonic sound, like wind through a flute. "It began sixty years ago. The Crimson Fervor—back when they were little more than a desperate rebellion—conducted experiments on captured mortals and beasts. They sought to harness the resonance of cosmic bats, hoping to weaponize their frequency."
"Let me guess," Luto said dryly. "It went perfectly fine."
Rha'vess looked away. "It went catastrophically wrong. The resonance fractured. The Fervor's base was consumed by their own test—the gods noticed, and descended upon the planet. Angels and executioners erased everything. Only the failed test subjects survived in the Belt."
Luto and Onyx exchanged looks.
"That was you," Onyx said quietly.
Rha'vess nodded. "Yes. We became… something between mortal and void. Our physiology changed. The atmospheric friction of reentry—the heat, the pressure—would tear us apart before we ever reached the surface. Even Lord Zha'Kor cannot endure it for long."
He paused, gaze distant. "And the ships we salvaged from the old wars are too fractured, too scarred, to survive such a descent. We've been trapped here for decades—suspended between stars and death—never able to return to the world below."
He exhaled, the glow in his chest dimming. "We built our refuge from the wreckage of our sins. And now, the same faction returns—reborn, stronger. The Crimson Fervor's leader was slain long ago, but whoever commands them now…" His voice trembled. "Their aura is far greater."
Luto's expression darkened. "And your people are directly below that ship."
Rha'vess nodded slowly. "If the Fervor strike again, we will not survive."
Before the silence could thicken, a sound—like soft wind through petals—drifted through the room.
The cell door creaked open.
Kessira stood there, pristine as if she had never left. In her arms, Varkal'Zir and Nulvyr gleamed faintly, untouched.
"Miss me?" she asked, smiling at Onyx with unnerving warmth.
Luto blinked, deadpan. "I take back everything bad I said about you."
"You said bad things?" she asked sweetly.
"…No," Luto lied instantly.
Onyx stepped forward, reclaiming his weapon. "Good work, Kessira. You did well."
Her smile deepened. "Say it again."
Onyx sighed. "You. Did. Well."
She spun once, humming softly, pleased.
Then Rha'vess spoke, voice faint. "Lord Zha'Kor… the camp… if the Fervor are truly moving, they'll strike soon. I can feel their resonance in the cosmic currents."
Kessira turned toward him, tilting her head. "He's right."
Luto adjusted his cuffs, voice firm. "Then we don't have time to waste."
He looked at Rha'vess and nodded. "Don't worry. Ryu's down there, and trust me—he's not the type to let anyone touch what he cares about. We'll help your people. You have my word."
Rha'vess blinked, voice trembling with gratitude. "You would fight for those you barely know?"
Onyx's tone was quiet but resolute. "They're our brother's allies. That's enough."
Kessira stepped back into the shadows, petals swirling as the void shimmered around her. "Then I'll prepare your way."
The hum of engines above them grew louder—ships repositioning, alarms faintly echoing through the deck.
Luto turned to Onyx. "You ready?"
Onyx tightened his grip on Varkal'Zir, eyes gleaming in the dark. "Always."