The clearing smelled of ash and moonlight.
The Hollowborn Titan's collapse had cracked the earth, leaving a jagged crater where it fell. Dust drifted like snow. The forest stood eerily still, watching, listening.
And at the center of it all stood Elara—drenched in pale blue and gold glow, her breathing shallow, her knees barely holding her weight.
Kael caught her before she could fall completely.
"Elara—easy," he whispered, steadying her as she trembled violently in his arms. "You used too much magic. Too fast."
Her fingers curled weakly into the fabric of his cloak. "I… I had to. You were losing yourself. And they were going to kill us."
He pressed his forehead to hers, trembling slightly as he held her. "You saved us. But you broke yourself to do it."
A painful warmth filled her chest. She didn't know if it came from her magic or him.
Maybe both.
Tamsin approached slowly, eyes wide with shock. "Her aura… it's still glowing. I've never seen anything like that."
Elias stared at Elara with awe and fear mingled in equal measure. "You rewrote the Titan's form. You didn't just kill it. You changed its essence."
Marcellus, still gripping his sword, stepped closer but kept his distance. His eyes were hard, analyzing, calculating.
"That wasn't healing," he said. "That was creation magic. The kind we were taught only belonged to myths."
Elara flinched. "I didn't know I could do that."
"And that," Marcellus said sharply, "is precisely what makes you the greatest threat in this forest."
Kael growled, stepping protectively in front of her. "Say that again. See how fast I end you."
"Stand down, creature," Marcellus hissed.
Elias stepped between them. "Enough. We can't afford to fight each other. Not now."
The Ghostborn strolled to the edge of the crater, examining the cracked earth with an oddly wistful smile.
"Well," he said, "that was entertaining. But now the real trouble begins."
Elara swallowed hard. "What… do you mean?"
The Ghostborn turned to her with a grave expression she had never seen him wear.
"You awakened the Second Seal," he said. "That alone would shake the realms."
He pointed at the Blood Moon sigil still pulsing above them.
"But rewriting a Hollowborn Titan? That is something even the Devourer cannot ignore. It knows you now. Feels you. Hungers for you."
Her blood ran cold.
Kael's hand tightened around her waist.
"Let it come," Kael growled. "It will not touch her."
The Ghostborn smirked. "You may be able to kill armies, little Shadowborn Prince—"
Kael's eyes flared silver.
"—but you cannot kill the Devourer."
Silence fell.
Because they all knew it was true.
Kael looked away, shadows flickering with frustration and fear. Elara touched his hand gently.
"We'll face it together," she whispered.
He didn't answer. His jaw clenched as he stared at the forest, breathing unevenly.
He was afraid.
Not for himself—
For her.
Elara's Collapse
Her legs buckled.
"Elara!" Kael caught her again, lowering her gently to the ground.
Pain surged through her chest, hot and sharp. Her vision blurred white around the edges.
Elias knelt beside her. "That's not normal exhaustion. Something's wrong—look!"
A faint glowing mark had appeared over her heart—the same sigil that now glowed on the Blood Moon.
Tamsin gasped. "That symbol… it's the mark of the Sealbearer!"
Marcellus cursed under his breath. "The prophecy was true…"
Elara held a shaking hand over the glowing mark. "It… it burns."
The Ghostborn crouched beside her. "Of course it does. You awakened a seal. That mark is a conduit. Every time the Devourer pushes against its prison, you will feel it."
Her breath hitched. "That means…"
"Yes," the Ghostborn said cheerfully. "Your life is now tethered to the Devourer's hunger."
Kael's shadows surged violently, reacting to his rage. "Get away from her."
"Oh hush," the Ghostborn said, brushing off Kael's fury. "If she dies too suddenly, all the seals fail at once. The Devourer would be free in under a day. I have no intention of letting my new favorite story end so quickly."
Marcellus glared at him. "Then you know what must be done."
The Ghostborn's smile faded. "Ah. We are thinking the same thing."
"What?" Elara gasped.
Marcellus stepped forward, face grim.
"You cannot stay here. Not in the open. Not with that mark blazing like a beacon."
"Where do we go?" Elias asked.
"The Sanctuary," Marcellus said.
Kael's entire body tensed. "ABSOLUTELY NOT."
"You have no choice," Marcellus said coldly. "The Sanctuary is the only place with wards strong enough to mask her presence. The Devourer's scouts will find you in a day if you remain exposed."
Elara struggled to sit up. "They imprisoned Kael. They hurt him. They tried to sever our bond."
"And I would do it again," Marcellus snapped, "if it would keep the realms intact."
Kael surged forward, shadows spiking out—
Elara grabbed his arm weakly. "Kael… wait."
He froze instantly at her touch.
She looked up at him, tears in her eyes. "If I stay out here, everyone is in danger. You saw what happened. My magic is unstable. The Devourer feels me. The Hollowborn hunt me."
"We will protect you," Kael insisted. "We don't need the Sanctuary."
"Kael…" she whispered, "I'm dying."
His entire world stopped.
"What?"
Elias flinched. Tamsin's hand flew to her mouth. Marcellus stiffened.
The Ghostborn tilted his head. "Ah. So you felt it."
Elara held her chest. "This mark… the way it burns… the way it's pulling at me… this magic isn't meant to live inside a mortal body. The Firstborn could handle it. I'm only half."
She met Kael's eyes.
"If I don't learn how to stabilize it… this seal will tear me apart from the inside."
Kael stared at her with horror. "No. No, Elara. Don't say that. You just need rest—"
"It's not exhaustion," she said softly. "It's unraveling. I can feel it."
Kael dropped beside her, gripping her hands.
"I won't let that happen," he whispered fiercely. "I will tear down the heavens before I let you die."
A tear slid down her cheek.
"I don't want to die either."
Their foreheads touched.
"But we need answers. Real answers. And the Sanctuary might be the only place that still has the First Healer's old records."
Kael's jaw trembled. "They'll try to take you from me."
"They won't succeed," she whispered. "You're stronger than them now."
His lashes lowered, his voice a broken thing. "Elara… I can't lose you."
"You won't," she whispered. "I promise. But please… let me try to survive."
Kael closed his eyes, shadows flickering weakly. He looked like a man drowning in a choice he didn't want to make.
Finally, with a shaking exhale, he nodded.
"Where you go… I go."
Her heart cracked open.
The Ghostborn's Warning
Marcellus turned brusquely. "We move at dawn."
"No," the Ghostborn said.
Everyone froze.
"The Sanctuary has changed its leadership," he said, voice unsettlingly calm. "The Elders are no longer united. Some want Elara alive. Some want her dead. Some want her as a weapon."
Kael's eyes flashed. "If they try to imprison her again—"
"They won't," the Ghostborn said. "Not if you enter through the Veiled Path."
Marcellus paled. "That place is forbidden."
"Everything interesting is," the Ghostborn replied.
Elias frowned. "What is the Veiled Path?"
"A tunnel only accessible during the Blood Moon," the Ghostborn said. "It leads beneath the Sanctuary. To the relic vault."
Elara swallowed. "And the First Healer's records?"
The Ghostborn smiled.
"They're there."
Silence. Heavy. Unsettling.
Elara gathered what strength she had left. "Then we go through it."
Kael shook his head. "It's dangerous. Even for me."
"Even more dangerous if we stay here," she whispered.
Her chest burned again—sharper this time. She gasped and doubled over.
"Elara!"
Kael caught her, panic ripping through him.
Tamsin rushed forward. "She's overheating! The seal is destabilizing faster!"
Marcellus cursed. "We're out of time."
The Ghostborn lifted Elara gently with a wave of his hand.
"Come now, little Sealbearer," he said softly. "Your destiny is waiting."
Kael stepped between them instantly. "You don't touch her."
The Ghostborn chuckled. "Possessive, aren't we? Fine. Carry her then. But quickly. She won't last long like this."
Kael swept Elara into his arms.
Her head rested against his chest, eyes fluttering with pain.
"Kael…" she whispered. "Don't be afraid."
He kissed her forehead.
"I'm afraid of only one thing," he whispered.
"Losing you."
Her fingers curled weakly around his collar.
And he carried her into the bleeding moonlight as the forest watched.
The Devourer Stirs
Far, far beneath the earth, in a prison made of sealed runes and old bones…
A voice whispered.
"Sealbearer…"
A dark hand pressed against the weakening boundary.
"You are waking my hunger…"
Cracks began to spread.
"And soon… I will wake you."