The cathedral groaned like a dying beast.
Cracks ran across the marble floor, bleeding golden light from the abyss below. The air was hot enough to sting, but Elara refused to move from Aelric's side.
Her lantern had gone out hours ago. Now, the only light came from the god stirring beneath them.
---
[08 Hours : 43 Minutes Remaining]
The digits on her wrist pulsed violently, each second a hammer against her chest. Her body felt weaker, slower, like the time itself was bleeding out of her veins.
Beside her, Aelric's corrupted arm writhed as if alive, black veins crawling higher up his throat. His grin flickered in and out, more a mask than an expression.
Elara whispered, "We can't stay here… if it breaks through—"
He cut her off. "Then it breaks through. We're not running forever."
"But—"
"Shh." His eyes gleamed in the fractured light, half-mad, half-clear. "Listen."
---
At first, she thought it was the heartbeat again. That endless thrum that rattled the city's bones. But no—this was higher. Softer. Almost like a voice carried through water.
A hymn.
She froze. "Do you hear that?"
He nodded slowly, head tilted. "The god's dreaming. And dreams always leak."
The hymn wasn't words—yet somehow her mind twisted it into meaning. Half-finished sentences. Promises. Lies.
Offer. Surrender. Ease. One sacrifice for countless saved.
Elara's chest tightened. The System's message burned across her vision again:
> [Secondary Condition active.]
Offer sacrifice to stabilize the entity.
Her breath hitched. "It's… talking to me."
Aelric laughed. Not cruelly—desperately. "Of course it is. You're easy prey."
She flinched. "What—"
"Because you still believe something can be saved." His grin sharpened. "That's your weakness, Elara. And that's why it wants you."
---
The cathedral shook suddenly. One of the stained-glass windows burst inward as a tendril lashed through, slicing the altar in half.
Aelric shoved her down just in time as shards rained around them. His corrupted hand grabbed the tendril, smoke sizzling where flesh touched light. He roared and hurled it back, veins splitting open.
The tendril withdrew, leaving the air stinking of blood and ash.
Elara scrambled to him, horrified. "Your arm—!"
He grinned through clenched teeth, whole body trembling. "What arm? It hasn't been mine in a long time."
---
They retreated into the back hall of the cathedral, where broken pews lay in piles. Dust fell from the ceiling with every tremor.
Elara slumped against a cracked pillar, clutching her knees. "I can't… I can't take this anymore. Every second, it's pulling at me. I feel it… asking for me."
Aelric knelt in front of her, corrupted hand twitching violently. For once, he wasn't smiling. His voice was low, raw.
"Then don't listen. Do you hear me? Don't give it a damn thing."
Her tears spilled over. "I don't have time left, Aelric! Hours! And if I can buy us more—"
His grip on her shoulders was iron. His eyes burned, unblinking.
"You think it ends with one? You think it'll stop at you? No. You give it blood once, and it'll drink the world dry. That's all gods know how to do."
---
> [Warning: Entity agitation rising.]
Tendril Activity +34%
The cracks widened further. Molten light bled through the walls, crawling like vines.
The hymn grew louder.
Choose. Offer. End the noise. Peace awaits.
Elara clutched her head, sobbing. "It's so loud, Aelric… it wants me, it wants me now—"
Aelric pressed his corrupted hand against her wrist, over her burning clock. His veins hissed, black smoke swirling as timer met infection.
Instantly, the hymn faltered.
Her eyes widened. "What are you—"
His grin returned, vicious and wild. "Cheating. Always cheating."
The system flickered.
> [Unstable interaction detected.]
Corruption suppressing Sacrifice Demand.
Elara gasped, the pressure in her skull easing. For the first time in hours, the hymn dimmed.
She stared at him in disbelief. "You… you silenced it."
He laughed raggedly. "I told you. I don't lose to myself. And I sure as hell don't lose to some buried dreamer."
---
But his body was failing. His corrupted arm smoked nonstop, flesh cracking open as though something inside was clawing to get out. His grin trembled at the edges, but he kept it fixed, for her sake.
Elara touched his chest gently, whispering, "You'll die if you keep this up."
He leaned closer, forehead against hers, eyes fierce. "Then I'll die. But not before I make it choke on me first."
Her heart broke. She wanted to tell him she loved him, that he wasn't alone, that even in this ruined world he meant something. But the words stuck, raw and unsaid.
Instead, she only whispered, "Don't leave me yet."
He closed his eyes briefly, then grinned again. "Not until the clock says so."
---
The cathedral roof groaned, beams snapping as another tremor ripped through the city. Outside, dozens of tendrils swarmed, sliding over towers, crushing streets. The air shimmered with heat.
The god wasn't asleep anymore. It was stirring.
---
[07 Hours : 22 Minutes Remaining]
The system's timer glared bright against the dark.
Elara rose shakily, lantern in hand though it no longer burned. She forced herself to stand tall beside him, even as her body shook.
She whispered, "If it wants me… it won't get me. Not now. Not ever."
Aelric's grin widened, sharp and mad.
"That's the spirit. Now let's see how long we can spit in its face."
---
The hymn returned, louder, angrier now. The cracks split open fully, a blast of molten light consuming the altar. The god's presence pressed against their skulls, suffocating, endless.
The final hours had truly begun.
---
> [Final Trial: Phase II Initiated.]
Resist until dawn.
Entity fully aware.
---
The walls shattered. Tendrils poured inward like a flood.
Elara raised her broken lantern. Aelric lifted his corrupted arm.
Side by side, against the end of the world, they braced themselves for the storm.