Ascendant Beasts : The Voidcrest Prophecy

The Elite's airship descended like a steel stormcloud, its engines roaring as it cast a jagged shadow over the snow. Thalia shielded her violet eyes, the relic in her grip humming like a trapped wasp. Beside her, Zane knelt in the snow, his breath fogging as shadows pooled beneath his fingernails. The Heart's whispers slithered into his mind, smoother now, almost coaxing.

*"Let me help,"* it murmured. *"The Devourer will devour even itself. We can stop it—together."*

Zane clenched his jaw. "Last time you 'helped,' I lost control."

*"Last time, you were weak. Now, you're… different."*

The airship landed, its hatch hissing open. Soldiers in gilded armor poured out, sunsteel blades glinting. At their helm stood a woman with a face like chiseled marble—Commander Lysandra Voss, the Grand Marshal's sister. Her gaze locked onto Zane.

"Surrender the corrupted," she ordered, "and the girl will live."

The Grand Marshal stepped forward, his broken spear still in hand. "Lysandra. This isn't our fight anymore."

Her laugh was sharp enough to cut glass. "You've gone soft, brother. The Elite *make* it their fight."

Thalia's vision flickered—a surge of Veilwalker power tore through her. She gasped as the world fractured, revealing overlapping realms: the snow beneath her feet, the fissure's pulsating tendrils northward, and a third, darker layer where the Devourer's countless eyes watched. Her father's ghost stood among them, mouthing silent words.

*Break the chain.*

"Thalia!" Zane grabbed her arm as she swayed. Blood trickled from her nose, violet and glowing.

"The fissure… it's a bridge," she panted. "The Devourer's using it to merge realms. If it succeeds—"

"Enough," Lysandra snapped. "Take them!"

Elite soldiers charged. Vyrthax lunged, his fangs tearing through a soldier's throat. The Grand Marshal hesitated, then swung his broken spear at his sister. She parried, blade singing.

"Traitor!" she hissed.

"Realist," he shot back.

Zane's shadows erupted, knocking soldiers aside. But the Heart's voice purred, *"You're still holding back. Let me in."*

Thalia stumbled toward the fissure, her relic blazing. "Zane! We need to go *now*!"

He sprinted after her, Lysandra's shouts fading behind them. Vyrthax followed, blood matting his fur. The Grand Marshal broke free, limping as he caught up.

The northern fissure loomed, a jagged tear in reality. Inside, the Devourer's form shifted—a colossal, writhing mass of teeth and eyes, its edges bleeding into the sky.

"It's evolving," Thalia whispered. "It's becoming part of this world."

Zane's shadows coiled tightly, the Heart's presence swelling. *"Bargain with me,"* it urged. *"My power for your body. No more half-measures."*

Thalia gripped his hand, her touch searing. "Don't. We'll find another way."

"There *is* no other way," the Grand Marshal said flatly. "The fissure's too wide. The relic's spent. All we have is *him*." He nodded to Zane.

The Heart laughed, low and dark. *"Listen to the broken soldier. He understands."*

Zane met Thalia's gaze. Her eyes were wild, fractured—more Primal than human now. "If I do this… pull me back."

She nodded, though they both knew she couldn't promise that.

The Heart surged, shadows engulfing Zane. His scream echoed as the power consumed him, reshaping his flesh into something sharper, hungrier. Thalia's relic flared in response, its light clashing with the void.

The Devourer roared, tendrils lashing toward them.

"Go!" the Grand Marshal shoved Thalia aside, taking the brunt of the attack. A tendril speared his chest, lifting him like a ragdoll.

"No!" Thalia's shriek tore the air.

Vyrthax leaped, ripping into the tendril. The Grand Marshal fell, blood pooling in the snow. "Finish it," he rasped.

Zane—or the thing he'd become—lunged at the Devourer. Shadows and starlight collided, the force hurling Thalia back. She crawled to the fissure's edge, the relic's dying glow merging with her Veilwalker energy.

"Break the chain," she whispered, and plunged the relic into the fissure's heart.

Light exploded. The fissure shuddered, sealing inch by inch. The Devourer's howl shook the earth as it was dragged back into the void.

When the light faded, Zane lay motionless, human again. The relic was dust.

Thalia collapsed beside him, her violet eyes dimming. Vyrthax nuzzled her hand, his growl soft.

Far south, the Elite airship ignited, fleeing the storm.

The Grand Marshal's body was gone—swallowed by snow, or something worse.

And deep in Zane's mind, the Heart slept…

But not forever.