The ground split open as the monster rose fully from the fissure.
It towered above them, a colossus stitched from a thousand tangled cords, every step grinding stone into powder. Crimson threads coiled like veins through its massive frame, and its cracked porcelain mask leaked fire through the fractures, like molten truth straining to escape.
Its voice was not a sound but a vibration—a thousand whispers in unison. Architect. Architect. Architect.
The word pounded in Clara's skull until she staggered, clutching her ears. The fissure pulsed with the chant, the battlefield echoing with the relentless chorus.
Damien roared and hurled a blazing spear of fire, the molten weapon hissing through the air. It struck the colossus square in the chest—only to vanish, swallowed by writhing threads. The beast barely flinched.
"Are you kidding me?" Damien cursed, summoning more flame. "That was supposed to hurt!"
Evelyn cackled, leaping gracefully into the air with her twin blades flashing. She slashed across the colossus's arm, threads unraveling in a spray of sparks. But the cords writhed like snakes, reknitting themselves before she landed.
"Adorable," Evelyn said, licking a streak of blood off her blade. "It heals."
"Then cut deeper," Yurin's voice rang out, calm but commanding. His threads shot forward, weaving into spears that pierced through gaps in the colossus's frame. For a moment, the massive figure froze, bound in a net of his precision cords.
But the beast pulled, and Yurin's threads snapped one by one like breaking violin strings. He didn't flinch—just adjusted, his eyes cold and calculating.
Clara fell to her knees. The whispers grew louder every time the colossus moved. She could feel its cords dragging across her veins, her own threads resonating with its monstrous pulse. Her first command still lingered in her body, scorching her soul. And now this… this thing felt like it was inside her.
Architect.
"No…" she whispered. "Not me."
The colossus swung its massive arm. A wave of threads lashed outward, shredding stone pillars like paper. Damien tackled Clara aside just in time, the ground exploding where she had been. His flames flared defensively, wrapping them both.
"Stay focused!" he barked. "I'm not letting that thing take you!"
But Clara's trembling hands betrayed her. Her fire flickered crimson again, stronger, darker. She didn't need to command it—the flames shaped themselves, threads twisting inside the fire, trying to form something alive.
Damien saw it and his face twisted. "Clara—stop!"
She gasped, pulling back, horrified at what her own fire wanted to become.
Meanwhile, Evelyn danced across the battlefield, laughter high and cruel. "Yurin! You're holding back, aren't you? Show us the real performance!"
Yurin didn't answer. His eyes were fixed on the colossus, studying every twitch of its massive cords. He wasn't panicked—he was analyzing. Always analyzing.
Finally, he spoke. "Its mask. That's the anchor."
The others followed his gaze. The cracked porcelain mask, fissures glowing with crimson, pulsed in rhythm with the fissure itself.
Damien snarled. "Fine. Then we break it."
He launched himself forward, flames exploding in a torrent. Evelyn followed with a mad grin, blades spinning. Together they struck, one with fire, one with steel, aiming for the mask.
The colossus roared, threads whipping outward. Damien's flames sputtered against the cords, Evelyn barely dodged a crushing hand, and both were forced back before they reached their mark.
The fissure pulsed again, harder, and Clara screamed. She could feel it dragging her flame, pulling her soul forward like a puppet. The colossus's threads reached not just for the world but for her.
Her eyes burned crimson. "Stop!" she shouted, and the puppets—the smaller ones still emerging—froze mid-step.
For a breath, the colossus itself hesitated, its cords trembling as if it, too, had heard her.
Everyone turned toward her.
Yurin's gaze sharpened, unreadable. Damien's eyes widened with horror. Evelyn just laughed, delighted beyond measure.
And in that frozen heartbeat, Clara realized the truth she didn't want to admit:
The colossus wasn't fighting them. It was listening to her.