The aqueduct was dying.
Stone cracked and bled water as the Rift's expansion tore through Velrith's underbelly. Ceiling beams groaned, dust showering down in choking clouds. Every pulse of violet light made the tunnels shudder like they might collapse entirely.
The Riftborn horror reeled but did not fall. Its obsidian body smoldered with Kael's fire and dripped shadow from Lucien's blades, yet still it laughed, a sound that made the hunters' bones rattle.
Behind it, the Rift swelled wider, its edges crawling higher along the tunnel walls, threatening to engulf the entire district above.
The Weight of Survival
"Walls are coming down!" Seren's voice cracked through the chaos, wind lashing outward to deflect falling stone.
"We can't hold this much longer," Ira snapped, his chains sparking as he ripped spawn from the ceiling. "If the aqueduct caves, half the district goes with it!"
Draven slammed his fists into a Riftspawn, reducing it to pulp. "Then we don't let it collapse!"
On Astraeus' side, Caspian traced frantic runes along the ground, trying to stabilize the floor beneath them. Lyra's spears of light punched through spawn, while Eira iced crumbling walls to keep them upright another moment longer.
But it wasn't enough. Too much. Too fast.
The Leaders Collide
Kael's flames carved a path, molten heat filling the tunnel. He turned sharply toward Lucien, golden eyes blazing hotter than the fire at his fists.
"You can't just cut at it blindly!" he roared over the chaos. "You'll bring the whole ceiling down on us!"
Lucien's silver gaze snapped to him, sharp as a blade. "Control your flames before you reduce the district to ash."
The words were steel, but there was strain in his voice, the faintest crack in his perfect composure. Kael caught it — and it only fueled him further.
They stood amid the chaos, monsters swarming, stone collapsing, yet for an instant the battlefield narrowed to just the two of them, fire against shadow.
Their squads exchanged tense glances. This wasn't just about survival anymore. It was about who would bend first.
The Rift Surges
The Riftborn horror lashed out, antlers raking the ceiling, chains of shadow whipping through the air. Hunters scattered, barely holding formation.
Kael's flames surged upward, intercepting a chain meant to cleave Seren in half. He gritted his teeth, the heat burning his own arm through the gauntlet.
Lucien's shadows speared another chain, pinning it to the wall. His face betrayed nothing, but his chest burned with every surge of power. He could feel his father's voice again, soft, coaxing.
This is futile. Let go. Show them your true self. They will kneel.
Lucien's grip faltered for half a heartbeat. The shadows warped, curling jagged, darker, wrong.
Kael saw it. Again.
Sacrifice
The Riftborn horror shifted, its chest-maw opening wide. Energy gathered inside, a violet storm ready to obliterate everything in the tunnel.
"Scatter!" Lyra screamed, spears of light flaring.
But there was no time.
The blast erupted.
Lucien's shadows surged forward instinctively, a shield of black enveloping his squad. It would hold — but only for them. The blast was too wide, too fast. Vanguard was in its path.
Kael realized it instantly. They wouldn't make it out. His squad wouldn't make it out.
Without hesitation, he launched forward, flames igniting into a blazing wall. The blast slammed into him, heat tearing at his skin, stone cracking under the force. His body screamed, but he held it, every muscle burning.
For one endless moment, Kael Ryven became a barrier between annihilation and his team.
The tunnel filled with fire and shadow colliding, swallowing the blast in a storm of light and dark.
Aftermath
Silence followed — heavy, suffocating. Smoke filled the tunnel, the stench of burned stone and blood hanging thick.
Kael staggered, one knee hitting the ground. His flames guttered weakly, gauntlets smoking. His jacket was scorched, skin beneath raw.
"Kael!" Seren and Ira rushed to his side, dragging him upright.
Lucien's squad lowered their shadows, unscathed behind his protection. He stepped forward, silver eyes narrowing as he looked at Kael — battered, gasping, but still upright.
Their gazes locked through the haze.
Kael's grin was bloodied, but it came anyway. "Try to keep up… Rael."
Lucien didn't answer. Couldn't. Something in his chest twisted sharply, unfamiliar, unwelcome.
Above the Ruins
On the city's feeds, the moment replayed instantly — Kael throwing himself into the blast, Lucien shielding his team in shadows.
Commentators shouted over the footage, fans erupting into a frenzy. The Fire who burns for others. The Shadow who protects only his own.
The city split further — admiration, resentment, obsession boiling in equal measure.
But beneath the noise, something darker stirred in Velrith's underbelly. The Rift pulsed again. The horror wasn't finished.
And Lucien Rael's mask was beginning to crack.