Kael's breaths grew shallow. The fragment pulsing inside his mind had grown bold, tendrils of darkness weaving through his thoughts like ink in water. It whispered relentlessly, a seductive voice threading doubt and fear into every corner of his consciousness.
"You can feel it, Kael… the power of the Void. Why struggle when you can become me?"
He gritted his teeth, fighting the invasive presence. "I… I won't let you."
Elyra's voice cut through the haze, sharp and commanding. "Kael! Focus on me. Don't listen to it!"
But the darkness had already latched onto him, twisting memories of Kael's past victories into illusions of failure, turning every thought into a battlefield. He staggered, clutching his head, groaning as the whisper intensified.
The Marauder moved to intervene, tendrils arcing with energy, but even its presence seemed strained. "It's too strong. Your will alone will not resist. You must anchor him, Elyra."
Elyra froze. "Anchor him? How?"
"Through thought-linking," the Marauder explained. "Bind your consciousness to his. Share your focus, your certainty. You may be the only tether keeping him in reality."
Kael's eyes flickered, glowing faintly with the fragment's influence. He looked at her, fear etched into his expression. "If you do this… if I lose control…"
"I won't let you," Elyra said firmly. "Trust me. We've faced darkness before. Together, we can do this."
The Marauder extended a tendril toward both of them. "Do it now, before the Void consolidates its hold."
Elyra grasped Kael's hand, closing her eyes. The fragment's pulse throbbed like a second heartbeat inside his mind, and she felt the chill of the Void pressing against her consciousness. Then, slowly, she let her thoughts stretch toward him, reaching into the storm of his fear, doubt, and confusion.
It was overwhelming. Images of his failures, twisted by the fragment, surged into her mind. The screams of memories not their own echoed in the void. Her heart pounded, but she pushed forward, filling the space with her clarity, her certainty, the unshakable trust between them.
Kael gasped as her presence anchored him. The fragment recoiled, hissing inside his mind, unable to withstand the combined force of their will. He felt her strength wrap around his thoughts, pushing the shadow back, reclaiming each corrupted fragment.
"No… not yet…" the whispered voice protested.
Kael's eyes cleared, the light of the fragment dimming as the control slipped from it. Elyra held him tightly, murmuring, "You're not alone. You never will be."
The Marauder's tendrils retracted. "It is weakened… but not gone. The Void will attempt again, and stronger. You've bought time—but the fight is far from over."
Kael swallowed hard, gripping Elyra's hand. "I felt it. I almost… became it."
She shook her head. "You didn't. Not because of me, not because of the Marauder. Because of you. That's what it couldn't take—your choice."
Outside, the Seraphine's Echo shuddered slightly, as though sensing the storm inside its passengers. The fragment pulsed faintly, a reminder that the Void had not yet released its grip entirely.
Elyra looked at Kael, resolve burning in her eyes. "Then we finish this. Once and for all."
Kael nodded, determination returning. "Together."
The shadows of the Void flickered beyond the ship's hull, watching, calculating. But inside the mind, the bond between Elyra and Kael blazed like a beacon—unyielding and unbroken.