The earth shook again and again. Reid only wondered when it would stop. Could it really be some kind of rescue? His lips pulled into a strained grin.
"Just as I'm losing it…" He coughed, the sound ragged.
His eyelids grew heavy. He shook his head, forcing himself awake, though weariness still clawed at him. Then, at last, the tremors ceased. Two pairs of footsteps echoed through the stairwell. Two figures emerged into the chamber. The jail was so dimly lit that Reid could make out only the glint of black uniforms trimmed with gold. Then the cell door creaked open.
Ren stood tall before him, a faint grin touching his face.
"You wanna come home?"
———
Ren and Rin carried Reid swiftly through the palace halls.
"Where's Lyra?" Reid asked, his voice rasping with every breath.
Ren sighed. "She did not want to see you in this pitiful state." He shook his head slowly. "Strange, isn't it? After all her desperate pleas to come for you."
"Pitiful state?" Reid chuckled weakly. "Her words, or yours?"
Lyra stood at the far end of the corridor. She reached into her belt pouch, drawing out a red crystal, holding it up in silent signal to the others.
"What's that?" Reid asked.
"Crystals we took from the Blight dimension," Rin explained. "With the right tuning, they make portals. Small ones. Not far, but far enough."
Lyra turned her gaze away, tightening her grip on the crystal as if bracing herself to shatter it.
A tearing sound split the air, sharp and grating like fabric ripping across stone. A blood-red portal carved itself open beside Lyra. With frightening speed, a scaly arm lashed out, snatching her wrist. The crystal slipped from her grasp, clattering across the floor.
The portal widened, its edges splitting further, until there was room for a figure too large to be human. Cain stepped through, his other hand clamping around Lyra's throat and hoisting her into the air.
"You're always reaching for what isn't yours, aren't you?" Cain's grin spread, his voice dripping with mockery. He leaned close, eyes narrowing. "Maybe I'll take your heart this time."
Ren's head snapped toward Rin. "Get Reid out!"
But Rin froze. Cain's towering form devoured the hall, blotting out sound and light. She was back in the arena. Back to the moment his claws almost tore through her life. Her hand drifted up against her neck without thinking. The copper taste of blood filled her mouth.
"Rin!" Reid's voice broke through the fog.
Her eyes snapped open, darting frantically around before she forced a breath deep into her lungs. "You take Reid."
"No, you should both go." Reid coughed.
Ren's expression hardened. He gave Rin one firm nod, then pulled Reid close and sprinted down the opposite hall.
Rin surged forward, arm flicking. A torrent of black flames swept toward Cain.
He dropped Lyra without effort, his hand opening as though discarding a toy. His head turned toward Rin, though his body did not follow, the movement uncanny.
"You…" Cain's grin lingered, but his voice sank low, almost savoring the moment.
Cain's lips twisted into a grin. "So they send the little flame. Cute." His voice dripped with mockery, but his eyes glowed with a feral focus.
Rin didn't waste words. Her hand snapped out, black fire rushing like a tide toward him. Cain dove straight through it, scales along his arm cracking, flesh burning—but healing as quickly as it tore apart. He appeared before her in a blur, claw already slashing down.
Rin raised her arm. The strike connected, her body skidding back down the marble floor, but flames licked his arm and stayed. Cain snarled, shaking it off, but the fire clung, hissing as it drained his mana bit by bit.
"Persistent pest," he muttered, slamming his palm into the ground. A magic circle flared, and jagged spikes of earth burst upward in a storm. Rin vaulted between them, black trails of fire burning through each spear.
From behind, Lyra darted in, knives flashing—not to strike Cain but to carve glowing glyphs into the walls and floor. Her movements were sharp, deliberate, painting traps with every step.
Cain noticed. His eyes narrowed. "Crafty little spider."
He conjured a torrent of flame from his own hand, brighter and hotter than any human blaze, sweeping it across the corridor to erase her work. Lyra ducked, sliding beneath the fire with a hiss of singed hair.
Rin charged again, fire bursting from her palm. Cain caught her wrist, his claws digging in. The black flames seared him, crawling up his arm and gnawing at his core. He growled, veins pulsing as he poured mana into his regeneration, forcing the wounds closed.
Lyra's voice rang sharp from across the hall. "Rin! Left!"
Without hesitation, Rin twisted her body in the direction. A crimson glyph beneath Cain flared alive, Lyra's earlier mark. The ground ruptured, chains of pure light snapping upward and coiling around his limbs.
Cain bellowed, pulling against them. His muscles bulged, veins standing out. The chains strained but held for an instant—just long enough.
Rin slammed both hands forward, a torrent of black fire erupting point-blank into Cain's chest. His scales cracked, flesh melting away. He roared, his voice shaking the palace walls, but still refused to fall. Regeneration fought against the devouring flames, his body tearing and rebuilding all at once.
Smoke filled the hall, stinging the air. Lyra grabbed Rin's shoulder. "You can't keep wasting power like this. He'll outlast you if you play his game."
Rin's jaw tightened. "Then we better hurry."
Cain burst free of the chains, chest still smoldering. His grin was wider now, almost sadistic despite the damage. "Yes. Burn yourself out for me."
He lunged again, reckless and wild, ignoring every wound as if pain meant nothing. The floor cracked beneath his steps, walls splitting as his sheer force shook the palace around them.
Lyra's eyes darted across the chamber, calculating. Her hand dipped into her pouch for another crystal, holding it low so Cain wouldn't see. "Rin, when he overcommits—" she whispered.
Cain ripped through the black fire on his legs, skin peeling away in strips that healed as fast as they burned. The smell of charred flesh filled the chamber, thick and choking. Rin's stomach turned, but she didn't flinch. She couldn't. Every second she held back was another chance he'd cut down Reid or Lyra.
Her fists tightened, flames coiling tighter around her arms. I have to keep him burning. I can't let up, no matter what.
She dashed forward, unleashing fire in bursts that splattered against his chest. Each hit hissed as it clung, feeding on his mana. But Cain pushed through every strike, his claws slashing through stone and smoke, his grin feral. He didn't even bother to defend, letting her land blows as if daring her to slow him down.
Lyra's voice cut in, sharp and calculating. "Keep him on you, Rin. Don't give him a gap." She wasn't barking orders for a fight—she was buying time. Rin caught the glint of a crystal in her hand, the faint shimmer of a spell forming around it. Lyra's goal wasn't victory. It was escape.
Cain lunged, his claw grazing Rin's cheek. Heat burst along her skin. She rolled back, heart hammering, vision shaking from the impact.
He followed, reckless, relentless. He doesn't care what I hit him with… Rin realized, watching as black fire chewed into his ribs, exposing bone that sealed itself shut seconds later. He's letting me burn him. Because he thinks he can't be stopped.
But she felt it—the drag in his movements. His breath coming heavier. His healing slowing just enough for the flames to stick a little longer each time.
"Don't stop," she muttered under her breath. "I'll burn you until you can't move."
Glyphs sparked across the ground. Lyra had circled the chamber, fast hands carving symbols into the floor. Cain didn't notice until the trap detonated, slamming him down with crushing weight. His knees buckled, cracks splitting the floor beneath him.
Rin seized the opening. Flames roared from her hands, a tide that wrapped around his torso and head, engulfing him. His flesh split open under the heat, char and blood spraying in bursts before stitching back together.
Cain laughed through it, his voice ragged. "You think this drains me?" His claws tore free, swinging wild. The wall shattered under the strike, rubble cascading down. Rin leapt back, chest heaving, the fire still eating at his frame.
"It doesn't matter if it does," Rin said. Her grip on her flames tightened. "Ren, Lyra!"
Lyra raised the crystal to her lips for a breath, then crushed it in her palm. Shards scattered across the marble, flashing faint light before dissolving into smoke.
From that smoke Ren surged forward, his blade cutting a trail of frost. Ice raced up Cain's legs, locking him to the floor.
The ground split open, marble dragging apart as a portal swirled wider and wider. It reached Cain, pulling at him with violent force.
Cain's smile dimmed into something darker, not broken but sharpened. His eyes lingered on Rin. "I'll get you." The words carried no rage, just a promise.
The ice cracked away, undone by Ren's spell, and Cain dropped into the portal. It sealed behind him with a snap of air.
Ren's weapon dissolved to mana. He glanced back at the others. "Follow me to Reid, then we leave. That was the last of your crystals, wasn't it, Lyra?"
She crossed her arms, still catching her breath. "I needed them."
They moved quickly, retracing their path through the ruined hall. Smoke and shattered stone guided them to the jagged hole they had first carved open.
Outside, the night air washed over them. Reid sat propped against a rock, eyes distant on the stars. He turned his head as they stepped through. "I'm gonna need an explanation."
"Yeah…" Rin laughed lightly, though her chest still burned from the fight.
"Reid." Lyra moved past the others, her voice unsteady. "Finally… you…"
Reid grinned, raising a brow. "What, did you miss me or something?"
Lyra didn't answer. Couldn't. A tear slipped down her cheek. "You didn't end up like her."
Silence hung between them until Ren stepped forward. He drew another crystal from his pouch and shattered it, a portal blooming open in the night. He looked at Lyra and smiled faintly. "Time to go."