The ground shook for the third time in a row, as if the entire city were breathing irregularly. We were at the limit. The giant beneath the streets had already revealed part of its head, part of its chest, and fragments of the metallic shell that encased the creature. The energy around it oscillated in bluish waves, shattering walls, tilting buildings, and undoing entire streets that tried in vain to reassemble themselves.
Rai'kanna kept her wings spread, trying to stabilize the wind around us. Vespera held three arrows at once, trembling with nerves. Elara breathed rapidly, her mana nearly depleted as she struggled to maintain a minimal containment circle. Liriel could barely speak, the grimoire glowing so intensely it looked on the verge of exploding.
Lyannis ran to me and grabbed my cloak.
"Takumi… his eye opened again."
I looked. The opening beneath the city revealed the giant eye of the being—white, pupil-less, filled with energy that rippled like blue snow. Around it, parts of the living shell moved as if trying to locate something. My flame reacted, hot and restless, almost as if it were being summoned.
Rai'kanna landed beside me.
"Takumi. We need to use the five artifacts now. Before he fully awakens."
Liriel opened the grimoire with effort, her hands shaking.
"The Seal of the Five Routes… it reverses the flow of the artifacts. Instead of opening paths, it closes them. But it only works if they're used at the same time."
Vespera's eyes widened.
"So we have to activate five different objects, at the exact same instant, in the middle of a city that's being destroyed. Perfect. Nothing can possibly go wrong here."
"We have no choice," Elara said weakly. "If he awakens… we won't stand a chance."
The fissures around the giant opened wider. The metallic jaw moved slowly, as if testing its own strength. The sound that came from it echoed like a muffled thunderclap.
Lyannis took a step back. "He's trying to speak…"
"Or call something," I murmured.
Rai'kanna extended the artifacts.
"The silent heart. The inverted lens. The key of the three gates. The resonant core. And the fragment of the whisper. We need to arrange them in a circle."
Liriel positioned herself in the center of the destroyed street and drew the pattern on the ground with light. The lines spread like glowing roots.
"Each artifact must be placed at a different point. But someone needs to conduct the main energy."
Everyone looked at me at the same time.
I took a deep breath.
"I already figured it would be me."
Rai'kanna grabbed my arm.
"Can you handle it? Your flame is already at its limit."
"The city needs to be sealed. I don't have much of a choice."
The tremors intensified. Debris fell from tilted buildings. Blue energy rose like smoke. Smaller creatures made of the same light began crawling out of the cracks, trying to reach the nearest buildings.
"Hurry!" Liriel shouted.
Each of them ran to position an artifact. Vespera nearly dropped hers along the way.
"This thing is slippery! I hate magical, shiny stuff!"
Elara placed the key at the northern point of the symbol.
"Done… I think…"
Lyannis set the resonant core at the eastern point, watching the vibrations stabilize.
"Takumi… when you activate it… I'll stay by your side."
I smiled briefly, even as fear tightened my chest.
"You always do."
Rai'kanna placed the silent heart at the western point.
"He's going to try to react. If something goes wrong, I'll hold you back by force."
Liriel positioned the final fragment at the southern point.
"All set. Takumi, step into the center."
I stepped in.
The flame inside me flared aggressively. The lines on the ground fully awakened, illuminating the entire street with a silvery light. The five points of the symbol began emitting sounds: one low, one high, one pulsing, one deep, and one constant echo. They sounded like different voices trying to speak to one another.
Liriel raised the grimoire.
"The seal only activates when the flame touches all five routes at the same time. Takumi, synchronize your energy with theirs!"
I closed my eyes.
The flame responded instantly, expanding like a wave of heat. I felt each artifact react: the core trembled, the heart pulsed, the key spun on its own, the lens fractured the surrounding light, and the fragment of the whisper murmured something incomprehensible.
And then the giant roared.
The ground split open further. Blue energy shot into the sky. The metallic shell began to rise, revealing part of the creature's shoulder. The entire city trembled as if it were being torn from the ground itself.
"Now!" Liriel shouted.
"Takumi, connect the flame!"
I extended my hands.
The flame exploded outward from within me.
Five beams emerged at the same time, linking my body to the five artifacts. They flared violently, each one emitting its own color. The symbol blazed as if it were on fire.
But the giant reacted.
Its blue energy struck back, pushing against my light. I felt a crushing pressure, as if something were trying to rip the flame out of me.
Rai'kanna ran forward and placed her hands on my shoulders.
"Don't let it invade! Hold on!"
Vespera was shouting something I could barely hear.
"Takumi! DON'T PASS OUT NOW!"
Elara tried to reinforce the magic with the last scraps of mana she had.
"Just a little more… just a little more…"
Lyannis held my hand.
"I'm here. Don't let go."
I felt the seal on the verge of breaking.
And then I pushed the flame with everything I had.
The five artifacts activated at the same time.
A blinding flash engulfed the entire city. The giant roared so loudly that buildings shook. The blue energy collapsed back into the underground. Its shell began to descend, dragged down by the silver lines forming around it.
The seal was closing.
Closing.
Closing.
Until the final sound echoed like a massive door being locked.
Silence.
The light vanished.
The artifacts went dark.
The city stopped trembling.
I fell to my knees. Rai'kanna caught me before I hit the ground.
"Takumi! Talk to me!"
I took a deep breath, exhausted but conscious.
"We did it… the seal closed…"
Liriel looked around, incredulous.
"The city is… quiet."
Vespera threw herself onto the ground.
"Finally! I never want to see anything glowing blue ever again!"
Elara collapsed into a sitting position, completely out of mana.
"Me neither."
Lyannis hugged me tightly.
"You did it…"
I returned the embrace, too tired to respond.
Rai'kanna stared toward the horizon, serious.
"The seal worked. But something is still wrong."
I looked at her.
"What did you feel?"
She pointed to the sky.
And for the first time since we arrived in the city, the sky was no longer murmuring… it was watching.
"It wasn't just the underground that reacted," Rai'kanna said.
"The sky awakened too."
The flame inside me confirmed it.
And the next danger was coming from above.