The battlefield stank of ash and Hollow rot. The breach they had been sent to suppress was collapsing in on itself, yet the shadows it left behind clung like a curse, warping the ground into cracked obsidian veins.
Sid stood shoulder to shoulder with Lucien, Kael, and Reinhardt, weapons drawn, breathing hard. They had fought through waves of Hollow spawn, their bodies aching from the relentless surge.
But now—something else stirred.
Reinhardt staggered, clutching at his chest. His great axe slipped from his grasp, embedding into the blackened earth with a dull thunk. His breath came ragged, his veins glowing with a fiery red pulse that was not his own.
"Reinhardt?" Sid called out.
The giant of a man turned his head slowly. His eyes—usually sharp with iron discipline—were flooded crimson, slit pupils burning like molten coals. His teeth bared in an unnatural snarl, and the jagged spikes of black armor began to protrude across his back and shoulders.
Lucien's voice sharpened. "Damn it—Spinecrush Rebellion is reacting to the Hollow residue."
"Wait—what do you mean reacting?!" Sid demanded, taking a step back as the ground quaked under Reinhardt's tremor.
Lucien didn't answer immediately. His hand hovered at his weapon, Timeglass Aegis flickering faintly at his side. His expression was grim. "Reinhardt… his core belonged to Krannor, the Siege Maw. It's one of the most unstable demon cores ever contained. Exposure to this much Hollow corruption—it could force him into…"
Reinhardt roared. The sound was no longer human. His body doubled in size, muscles twisting, claws forming from his fingertips. His skin darkened with scales and plates of bone-like armor. Wings, skeletal and jagged, cracked from his back.
"…a berserk form."
Kael cursed, blades crackling with stormlight. "You're saying he's not himself anymore?"
"No," Lucien muttered. "Right now—he's only the demon."
The berserk Reinhardt slammed his claws into the earth, fissures splitting the ground like spiderwebs. He lunged forward in a blur of monstrous strength, the shockwave alone sending Sid flying backward.
Sid skidded across the fractured ground, barely catching his footing before Reinhardt's claw came crashing down where he'd been.
"Reinhardt!" Sid shouted, his voice hoarse. "It's me—Sid!"
But the only answer was a guttural snarl and a swipe of claws, sharp enough to split stone.
Lucien leapt in, activating a burst of his temporal shield to slow Reinhardt's movements for a heartbeat. "Sid, get out of here! He'll tear you apart!"
"No." Sid's voice hardened, surprising even himself. He clenched his fists as the heat of Blackbind Flame swirled faintly across his hands. His daemon's power—it pulsed, urging, whispering.
He looked into Reinhardt's monstrous eyes. They were drowning in rage. But beneath the storm of Hollow corruption, for just an instant, Sid swore he saw something flicker. A plea.
"…He's still in there."
Sid stepped forward, flames sparking at his fingertips. "Reinhardt, listen to me! You're not the demon. You're not Krannor! You're one of us—you're my comrade!"
The beast roared, but Sid's words carved into it, the sound stuttering for a breath.
Lucien froze, eyes wide. "He—he's actually reaching him?"
Sid thrust his palm forward. Blackbind Flame erupted—not in a torrent of destruction, but in controlled, writhing tendrils that wrapped around Reinhardt's form like shackles of midnight fire. The demon within Reinhardt screamed, thrashing violently, but the flames did not burn—they bound.
The ground shook, air blistering with heat, but Sid stood firm, holding on with everything he had. His heart pounded, his mind threatening to split as the demon's whispers surged louder, almost gloating:
Yes… bind him, consume him, control him… use this power, Arkwood…
"Shut up!" Sid snarled through gritted teeth. His focus was on Reinhardt alone. "You're not alone in this fight! If you fall—I'll drag you back myself!"
The flames pulsed, reacting not to the daemon's will, but to Sid's. For a moment, the abyss within him bent to his command.
Reinhardt roared again—this time, not in rage, but in anguish. His monstrous body convulsed, cracking apart as the demonic armor shattered piece by piece, falling away in burning fragments. The claws receded, the wings crumbled to ash.
And then, with a final guttural cry, Reinhardt collapsed to his knees.
The battlefield fell silent except for the hiss of dissipating Hollow smoke.
Sid staggered, gasping, his Blackbind Flame flickering out. His arms trembled violently, his chest burning as if the daemon had clawed him from the inside.
Lucien rushed to Reinhardt's side, kneeling. The man was unconscious, his human form restored, though his breath was shallow and strained.
"…You… actually calmed him," Lucien said in disbelief, glancing back at Sid. "Do you realize what you just did? No one—no one has ever pulled someone back from a berserk daemon state."
Sid shook his head, panting, his voice rough. "I didn't… pull him back. He chose to come back. I just… gave him the flame to hold onto."
Kael looked between them, his usual smirk absent, his expression unreadable. "…Looks like Arkwood's more than just a vessel after all."
The Hollow breach sealed at last, leaving only the scarred earth and their battered bodies.
Sid stared down at Reinhardt, a quiet weight settling in his chest. If I can stop him from falling completely… maybe… maybe I can stop myself, too.
But in the back of his mind, the demon's whisper lingered, sly and cold:
Interesting, little vessel. You think binding others proves control. But one day… when the chains break… who will bind you?
Sid's fists tightened. He didn't answer.