The mist curled around the valley like living smoke.
Seraphim's blade still gleamed from her last strike, but the Second Seal had not yet faltered.
Its silver eyes locked on her, searching for weakness, for fear.
Then the air shimmered.
A soft golden light, liquid and warm, coalesced into a shape — small, agile, impossible.
A fox. Its fur glowed like moonlight on jade, eyes like molten gold.
It circled the cursed river, agile, intelligent… alive with divine energy.
Seraphim froze.
"That… is not human," she whispered.
The fox's gaze met hers, and she felt an understanding pass between them —
a mind, ancient yet playful, carrying centuries of wisdom.
"You called the Seal," the fox's voice echoed in her mind,
"but I am here to guide you. Not to fight… yet."
The Second Seal snarled, sensing the new presence.
Its claws struck the earth, sending cracks through the valley.
But the fox leaped — a blur of silver-gold — and in an instant, light spread across the river.
A protective barrier. A blessing.
"You are more than you think, Seraphim," the fox continued, its voice melodic, yet firm.
"Your fall does not define you. Your fight does."
And then, as suddenly as it appeared, the fox shifted.
A figure — tall, ethereal, still crowned with silver light — emerged from the fox's form.
Half-human, half-divine, yet now wearing the guise of the cunning fox, a being who could walk among mortals and gods alike.
"Together," it said, "we face the Seal. And the truth beyond it."
Seraphim gripped her blade tighter.
The battle was no longer hers alone.
And the fox… the celestial immortal… would fight by her side.