The fissure trembled as though the world itself couldn't bear the weight of what was happening. Clara knelt on cracked stone, hands trembling, her shadow stretching impossibly long as the colossus bent down behind her. Its mask glowed, threads digging into the ground like roots, feeding on the very marrow of the battlefield.
She clutched her chest, breath ragged. The whispers were no longer whispers. They were a chorus.
Command. Bind. Devour. You are not Clara—you are the Architect returned.
"No," she gasped. "I'm not… I'm not—"
Damien stepped forward, fire wreathing his arms. His eyes burned not with power, but with grief. "Clara… look at me. You're still in there. You're still you. But if you let this thing in any deeper, I won't be able to reach you."
Her eyes snapped toward him, pupils dilated, tears streaming down her face. "You said you'd kill me if it came to that."
The words hung in the air, sharp and heavy.
Damien's hands shook, fire sputtering. "I… I will. If I have to." His voice broke, softer. "But don't make me."
Yurin, silent until now, tilted his head ever so slightly. His calm expression was almost cruel in the chaos. "You're wasting time. Every second she resists, the bond digs deeper. Severing it will require more than fire and words."
Damien whirled on him, rage snapping. "Shut your mouth! This is your fault—you've been pushing her toward this since the start!"
Yurin's gaze didn't falter. "No. This is who she is. You should be asking yourself why you never saw it sooner."
Damien's fire erupted in a storm, his fury igniting the fissure's edge. "Enough!" With a roar, he launched himself at Yurin, flames spiraling into a spear that burned hot enough to distort the air.
Evelyn's laughter rang across the battlefield, delighted. "Yes! Finally! Damien versus Yurin—place your bets, everyone! I've got twenty shards on Yurin finishing him in three moves!"
Yurin didn't move as Damien closed in. His threads quivered in the air, casual, patient, like a predator humoring its prey.
But Clara staggered upright, clutching her head. "Stop! Don't—"
The colossus moved again. Not because she commanded it, but because she feared. Its massive hand slammed down between Damien and Yurin, the impact cracking the earth in a shockwave.
Damien barely dodged, flames sputtering under the force. He glared at Clara, anguish twisting his features. "You're protecting him now? Him?!"
Her voice cracked. "I didn't mean to! I can't—control it!"
Yurin's calm voice slid between their cries. "And that, Damien, is why you cannot win this argument. You still believe her will and the colossus' will are separate. They are not. They are converging. Severing them now… would mean severing Clara herself."
Damien's fire wavered, his heart lurching. His mind screamed at him to strike, to burn the threads out of her before they consumed her. But his chest ached at the thought—if Yurin was right, he wouldn't just kill the bond. He would kill her.
Evelyn leaned on her blades, smiling wide. "Oh, the delicious agony of choice. Kill the girl to save her, or save her and watch her become a monster. This is better than any play."
Clara stumbled forward, eyes glassy, whispers spilling from her lips unbidden. "Command… bind… devour…"
Damien's flames surged again, tears burning his eyes. "No. I won't let it end like this!"
With a roar, he thrust his hands forward, channeling every ember of his power not into destruction—but into purging flame. A searing white fire erupted, spiraling toward Clara, threads shrieking as they recoiled. The air itself screamed under the heat.
The colossus howled, its body convulsing as the threads writhed violently, some snapping under the intensity of the blaze. Clara collapsed, clutching her chest, screaming as the bond strained and split.
"Damien—stop!" she cried, voice cracking under the pain. "You're tearing me apart!"
But he didn't stop. His teeth clenched, his fire brighter than ever, determination blazing. "Better pain than slavery! Better ash than corruption!"
Yurin's threads finally stirred, snapping forward in a blur. They wrapped around Damien's flames, suffocating them with surgical precision. Sparks hissed, the fire strangled mid-air.
Damien stumbled, gasping, his power crushed in an instant. He glared at Yurin, fury and despair colliding. "Why did you stop me?!"
Yurin's eyes were colder than ice. "Because you were not severing the bond. You were severing Clara."
Clara lay on the ground, trembling, threads still coiling into her veins. Her eyes flickered between Damien and Yurin, torn and terrified.
And as the whispers surged again, louder, clearer, one thought crystallized in her mind.
Maybe Yurin wasn't stopping her corruption. Maybe he was guiding it.