Ascendant Beasts : The Voidcrest Prophecy

The horizon trembled. What remained of the sky—a patchwork of jagged scars and bruised purple clouds—rippled like water struck by stone. A sound followed, deeper than thunder, older than the mountains. It was the groan of a world bending under the weight of something unimaginable. Thalia's violet-lit eyes strained to see through the distortion, her Veilwalker senses prickling with a warning that made her teeth ache.

"It's here," she whispered.

The ground split. Not a fissure this time, but a chasm that stretched across the Ashen Wastes, swallowing glaciers and rock alike. From its depths rose a spire of blackened bone, curved and serrated like a claw. Then another. And another. The Devourer hauled itself into the world, its true form a grotesque collage of stolen anatomy—a hundred skeletal wings, a thousand eyes blinking in discordant rhythms, a maw lined with teeth that mirrored entire constellations. Its body shifted constantly, dissolving and reforming in a nauseating loop, as though it couldn't decide which nightmare to wear.

Zane stumbled back, his boots slipping on ice. "Gods…"

The Grand Marshal's spear trembled in his grip. "We can't fight that."

"We don't have to." Thalia's voice was steadier than she felt. The Covenant Stone's remnants weighed heavy in her pocket, its fractured edges humming against her thigh. "We just need to survive long enough to banish it."

Lira's laugh cut through the air. She stood atop a nearby ridge, her void-rotted face twisted in glee. "Banishing the Devourer? Sweet little Thalia. You really think your brother died for a *victory*?"

Thalia's thorns lashed out on instinct, but Lira danced back, her daggers glinting. "He didn't just open the fissure—he *chose* this. The cult's leader showed him the truth. The Devourer doesn't destroy. It *purifies*."

"Liar!" Thalia's violet eyes flared, the Veilwalker magic surging. The air around her warped, revealing glimpses of the fissure's kaleidoscopic horrors—the Devourer's victims, frozen in eternal screams.

Zane grabbed her arm. "Don't. She's baiting you."

Lira smirked. "Tell me, Thorn. Did you ever wonder why the cult wanted your brother dead *after* he gave them the fissure? Why not before?"

Thalia froze. Her brother's final moments flashed in her mind—his blood soaking the relic, his lips shaping unspoken words. *The cult's leader is—*

"Because he tried to warn you," Lira said softly. "Because the leader is someone you love."

The world narrowed. Thalia's pulse roared in her ears.

Vyrthax lunged at Lira with a snarl, but the cultist melted into shadows, her laughter echoing. "Find the truth in the Frostspire's heart, little Thorn. Before the Devourer turns your hero into a puppet."

The Grand Marshal spat. "Delusions. We need to retreat—now."

But retreat was impossible. The Devourer's shadow fell over them, its thousand eyes narrowing. A wing—or something like a wing—swept down, carving a canyon where the group had stood moments earlier. They ran, Zane dragging Thalia behind a half-collapsed glacier.

"Your eyes," he panted. "They're… bleeding."

Thalia touched her cheek. Her fingers came away smeared with violet-tinged blood. The Veilwalker magic was tearing her apart from the inside, stitching her senses to realms no human was meant to see. "It doesn't matter. We need to reach the Frostspire's heart. Lira said—"

"Lira's a fanatic," Zane snapped. "She'll say anything to break you."

The glacier shattered. The Devourer's claw curled around the ice, lifting it like a child's toy. Zane shoved Thalia aside as debris rained down, his shoulder taking the brunt of a jagged shard. He cried out, blood blooming across his tunic.

"Zane!"

"I'm fine," he gritted, snapping the ice free. His face was pale, but his gaze locked onto the Devourer. "We can't outrun it. We need to strike back."

The Grand Marshal crouched beside them, his spear crackling with residual Primal energy. "With what? Prayers and spite?"

"With *this*." Thalia pulled the Covenant Stone's largest shard from her pocket. It glowed faintly, its light weak but persistent. "The Keeper said it's a beacon. If we amplify it, maybe we can destabilize the Devourer's form."

Vyrthax growled. **"The wolf smells death in that plan."**

"We're all dead anyway," the Grand Marshal muttered. "How?"

Thalia hesitated. The Veilwalker magic whispered options—a ritual, a sacrifice, a bridge between realms. Each more terrible than the last. "I need to anchor the shard in the Devourer's core. But to get close enough…"

Zane stood abruptly. "Use me."

"What?"

"The Heart's gone, but the connection isn't." He tapped his chest, where shadows once writhed. "The Devourer's after the Primals' power. If I let it sense the Heart's echo, it'll focus on me. You get the shard into its core while it's distracted."

Thalia's stomach turned. "That's suicide."

"It's our only chance."