The dungeon burned with soul-light — fractured, violent, unstable. Every corridor they stumbled through cracked apart behind them, swallowed by storms of screaming spirits.
Nathan's glyph sputtered. He didn't want to rely on it, but without it, he wouldn't be able to move. Kullen's sword dragged across the floor with every step. Jalen's body was slung between them, dead weight, his aura long since burned out. And above them, Lucio dangled against the ledge, unconscious, blood trailing from his jaw.
"Hold him—" Nathan gasped, flinging himself upward. Time stuttered, his body lurching across the wall just long enough to hook Lucio's limp arm. The strain made his nose bleed, but he didn't stop. He heaved the War God over the ledge, dragging him down beside Kullen.
Lucio didn't stir. His chest rose and fell faintly, the dog tags against his neck glowing in weak pulses.
Kullen's jaw locked tight. "He's done. We're all done. We can't fight through this."
"Then we don't." Nathan pointed forward, through the collapsing cavern. At the center of the last chamber, a stone arch bled light — a portal, jagged and flickering, its surface rippling like water in a storm.
Jalen struggled to speak, "V-vexa, Rhea, and the others... we need to g-get to them first."
"Focus on getting your rest, Jalen. We can handle this." Kullen looked at the entrance through which they came, spirits passing through it.
"Nathan, I'm gonna go grab them, you focus on getting these two to the portal!"
Kullen didn't wait for Nathan's answer. He gripped his blade tight, ignoring the tremor in his arm, and sprinted back into the choking dark. Spirits swarmed instantly — twisted things, shrieking with no command but hunger.
His sword cut through them in brutal arcs laced with unrefined soul energy. Every swing made his shoulders burn. Every step heavier than the last. But he kept going, because the others were waiting.
Nathan staggered the opposite way, dragging Jalen with one arm, Lucio with the other. His glyph sparked, pulling time thin just long enough to dodge a lunging phantom. His vision blurred. He tasted blood. But he refused to stop — every breath of Jalen's, every faint pulse of Lucio's dog tags, was reason enough.
Deeper in the collapsing dungeon, Kullen found them.Vexa had her spear buried in a spirit's chest, her shoulders heaving. Kuromi shielded Rhea's body with her own, teeth bared. Ember darted between them, flames licking at his fur, snapping at anything that got close.
"Move!" Kullen roared, cleaving a path. They didn't argue. Together, they forced their way back through the corridor, spirits howling and collapsing behind them.
When they finally reached the chamber, Nathan was already there, barely holding the others upright, his body shaking from the effort.
The portal screamed louder now, light spilling in violent waves that rattled the stone under their feet. And at its edge, Stix had gone still, his eyes locked on it, his tether glowing bright enough for everyone to see.
"…No," he whispered.
Vexa frowned. "What?"
His body lurched, wracked by a cough that tore through his chest. Black smoke poured from his mouth, his tethered veins flickering like frayed wires.
"H-he only brought me back halfway…" His voice cracked, a shadow of the defiant drawl they were used to. "…And now that he's erased my body, it's going back to how it was before."
Kuromi stepped forward, shaking her head. "No. No, we're not leaving you here— we already lost Rhea, we can't lose you too!"
"You don't get it," Stix cut her off, his grin returning for a fleeting moment, though it didn't reach his eyes. He glanced at the portal, its edges sparking and tearing wider. "This thing's breaking apart already. Without me anchoring it, none of you would make it through. You'll scatter like dust."
Nathan's bloodied hands clenched. "So you just—what? Burn yourself out to keep us safe?"
"Guess so." Stix chuckled hoarsely, though it ended in another cough.
"Sounds like something a big damn hero would do, right? Didn't think it'd ever be me."
Ember whimpered low, padding toward him. The fox's flames dimmed, as if even fire itself understood the goodbye.
Kullen shook his head, jaw tight. "There has to be another way."
"There isn't." Stix met each of their eyes in turn — lingering on Jalen, who was barely conscious, and on Rhea's still body in Kuromi's arms.
"She doesn't get left behind. None of you do. I'll hold it steady… but once you step through, that's it. My tether snaps. I don't follow."
Jalen stirred faintly on Kullen's shoulder, lips moving without strength. "…Stix… no…"
Stix squeezed his brother's shoulder one last time. "I already died once. This time, I get to choose what it means, and besides, I can't just leave Rhea down here by herself either. She's probably looking for me right now. Just promise me you'll give her body a proper burial."
Nathan's throat worked, but no sound came out. Kullen bowed his head, the grip on his sword turning white-knuckled. Vexa stepped forward, her jaw trembling as she whispered, "We promise."
Stix exhaled, shaky but satisfied. The portal behind him flared, its unstable edges locking into a steadier shape under his tether. The effort made his body fracture further, smoke pouring from his ribs.
"Good," he rasped, voice thinning. "Then quit wasting time. The longer you stand here, the harder this gets. Go. Live. Make it count."
He took one step back toward the portal, bracing himself like a pillar against the storm of soul-light. His form already looked more shadow than flesh, his tether glowing brighter than ever.
Jalen, too weak to speak, let his hand fall limply toward his brother. Stix caught the gesture, holding it for one fragile heartbeat before letting go.
The portal wailed, light spilling brighter and harsher, its rippling edges thrashing like a storm barely leashed. Stix planted his feet, arms spread as if holding the sky itself. The tether in his chest burned brighter than the cavern walls, anchoring the gateway with his own fading soul.
"Go!" he barked, the word cracking with force.
Kullen didn't hesitate. He shoved Jalen forward, half-carrying him toward the light. Nathan stumbled beside them, Lucio slung over his other shoulder. Vexa followed, Kuromi clutching Rhea's body tight against her chest, Ember's flames trailing low at her heels.
The spirits screamed louder now, flooding the chamber in waves. They slammed against the tether's glow but couldn't break through. Stix held firm, body flickering between shadow and flesh.
Kullen reached the edge first. He glanced back, eyes locking on Stix. For a heartbeat, soldier met soldier. Kullen's mouth opened, but no words came — he only nodded once.
Stix smirked faintly. "Don't screw it up."
And then Kullen stepped through, dragging Jalen with him.
The portal flared, hungrily pulling them inside. Nathan shoved Lucio forward next, then followed with a grimace, his time-glyph sparking painfully as the portal tore at him.
Vexa turned, her eyes wet.
"Go!" he shouted again, voice shaking.
The chamber fell silent but for the roar of the portal and the shrieking of spirits. Stix was alone.
His tether split.
Light engulfed the cavern, brighter than the sun, swallowing stone and shadow alike. The portal folded inward with a sound like ripping sky, and Stix stood there with a smile.
"I love you guys."
The inside of the portal screamed as reality split itself open—fractured realities and distant lands.
The arch behind them shattered as they crossed, soul-light bleeding out into a river that had no banks. It swallowed them whole.
Inside, there was no ground. No sky. No walls.
Only the current.
It yanked them forward, pulling their battered bodies like driftwood. Each breath felt thin, stolen, their wounds flaring with every surge of light. Portals bloomed and collapsed around them like bursting stars: a tundra, a sunken ocean floor, a red desert scattered with bones, a forest burning beneath stormlight. Each glimpse was a world screaming for them, trying to claim them.
Jalen dangled half-conscious, his aura gone, his lips moving soundlessly against Vexa's shoulder. Ember clung to her other side, his flames sparking dimly as he dug his claws into the light itself. Kuromi wrapped her arms around Rhea's body, refusing to loosen her grip even as waves of soul-energy burned her skin.
Nathan's glyph sputtered, sparks snapping across his wrist as he tried to bend time. But the current mocked him — his body wouldn't answer. He reached anyway, fingers trembling, catching Kullen's arm for half a heartbeat.
"Kullen—!"
The light buckled. A rift tore between them. Nathan's hand slipped, his shout echoing into the void as he was dragged sideways into a tunnel of storming sand. His body stretched and vanished, a trail of fire following behind him.
Kullen roared, his voice raw, his sword scraping uselessly against the current as if it were solid ground. The steel left no mark. His strength was gone — every swing he made in the dungeon bled him dry — but he still clung to Lucio's limp form. The War God's dog tags flickered faintly, like dying coals.
The current surged again, ripping them toward a horizon drenched in crimson light. Kullen tried to kick free, his body tearing at the seams, but Lucio's weight dragged him further. The red horizon split wide and swallowed them both.
"Stay together!" Kuromi's voice carried like a knife through the current. Her arms tightened around Rhea's body, nails biting into her own palms, as if she could will her to stay. Her legs kicked against the flow, her braid snapping like a whip in the torrent. The storm tried to tear her away, tried to rip Rhea from her grasp — but she screamed, a sound sharp enough to cut space itself.
Vexa lunged toward her, hand outstretched. Their fingers brushed—
Then another surge hit. Knocking Vexa into Kuromi, sending them spiraling into a split of endless green forest.
The river of portals calmed for only a heartbeat, leaving two figures adrift.
Jalen. Unconscious, battered, his body drifting like a broken mast, and Rhea. Her body still, her hair drifting in the light as though it were caught in water.
The current pressed against them, tried to split them apart as it had the others — but it failed.Every surge bent, every rift closed, as if some unseen weight kept them together.
Jalen's hand twitched, unconscious reflex or something deeper. His fingers brushed against Rhea's, and the current faltered, as if recognizing the bond.
The light swallowed them both at once.
And when it faded—
Jalen and Rhea's bodies lay alone, washed ashore at the edge of a storm-lit coastline. Waves crashed in hollow rhythm. Lightning split the sky above, painting their figures in flashes of gold and violet.
Two siblings. One breathing. One gone.
But together.
The portal behind them sealed with a sound like a dying star.