The golden light filled everything, swallowing shadows, tearing through the tar-stained walls until the house itself seemed to unravel. The floor lurched beneath Sophie, throwing her sideways, but she clung to Marcus with all her strength. His body was heavy in her arms, his breaths shallow but still there—still alive.
"Stay with me," she begged, her voice breaking over the roar of collapsing wood and stone. "Don't you dare let go now. Not after everything."
Marcus's eyelids fluttered. He coughed, blood streaking his lips, but his hand found hers. "Not… going anywhere. Not without you."
The chamber walls cracked wide, beams splintering, the heart's remains disintegrating into ash. The air was thick with smoke, dust, and the fading cries of freed souls. Sophie staggered to her feet, hauling Marcus up with her. His weight nearly dragged her back down, but she refused to release him.
Above them, the ceiling groaned, then split. Through the fissures, Sophie glimpsed the world beyond—pale gray dawn spilling into the ruin. For the first time in what felt like centuries, she saw the sky.
"We can make it," she whispered fiercely, more to herself than to him. "We just have to move."
The ground buckled again, sending them crashing against the wall. The light above flickered as darkness seeped back in, thick and oily. Sophie's head snapped around.
From the fragments of shadow still clinging to the stone, something writhed. Ethan's voice, broken but not gone, rasped through the chamber.
You think it's over? You think light can kill me? I am the rot in your bones, Sophie. I am the silence in your screams. I will never leave you.
The shadows stretched, crawling toward her, toward Marcus. They were weaker now, but still hungry, desperate. Sophie's grip on the knife tightened. The blade was cracked, its edge dripping black, but it was all she had.
"Back," she hissed, raising it. "You're done. You hear me? Done."
The shadow recoiled, but its voice was venom. You can cut the heart, but you can't cut me out of you. I live in every wound you hide. And when he's gone—when Marcus dies—I'll be there to pick up the pieces.
Her chest tightened as if he had plunged claws into her ribs. Marcus sagged against her, his face pale, blood matting his hair. She wanted to scream that Ethan was lying, that Marcus wasn't dying, that she wasn't weak enough to fall back into his grasp. But the doubt slithered in all the same.
Marcus's hand squeezed hers, faint but certain. His voice rasped, broken but resolute. "Don't… listen. You're stronger. Stronger than him. Stronger than me."
Tears blurred her vision. She shook her head fiercely. "No. Not stronger than you. Because I wouldn't still be standing without you."
The shadow lunged. Sophie raised the knife, driving it through the black mass. The impact ripped fire up her arm, but the shadow shrieked and tore apart, dissolving into dust.
The silence that followed rang like thunder.
The chamber gave one last groan before collapsing. Beams rained down, stone cracked open, and Sophie dragged Marcus toward the fissure above. She clawed her way up broken stairs and rubble, her muscles screaming, every inch of her body coated in blood and ash.
Marcus tried to help, but his strength gave out after a few steps. "Leave me," he gasped.
Sophie's rage flared. "Don't you dare say that. Not after everything we've survived. I am not leaving you here."
She hooked his arm over her shoulders, half-carrying, half-dragging him toward the opening. The light grew brighter, closer, until finally they burst through the shattered doorway into the dawn.
The house collapsed behind them in a roar of thunder and fire. Sophie stumbled onto the grass outside, Marcus's body heavy in her arms. She collapsed beside him, gasping for air, the rising sun spilling across their faces.
For the first time, the house was silent. Truly silent. No whispers, no groans, no shadows shifting in the corners. Just the wind in the trees, the cry of distant crows.
Sophie turned to Marcus, brushing the blood from his face with trembling fingers. "We made it. We're free."
His lips curved faintly, his eyes half-open. "Told you… together."
Relief broke her, and she pressed her forehead to his, sobbing. "Together. Always."
Behind them, the ruins of the house smoldered, the last of Ethan's voice swallowed in ash. But as Sophie held Marcus close, she couldn't shake the chill that lingered in her chest.
Because Ethan's final words still echoed in her mind.
I live in every wound you hide.