Fire and ash blur together as families scatter into the trees. AIDEON grips Cassiel's hand, dragging him through brush while Anastasia clings to his back.
Behind them, tents collapse under clawed silhouettes. Jane shouts for the children — her voice breaks into a scream and stops.
The forest smells of iron and smoke. AIDEON hears his father's axe swing once, twice, then a wet crack. His mother's voice calls his name, faint and rising into nothing.
AIDEON doesn't look back. Cassiel does — and sees something dragging bodies into the dark.
---
A dozen children stumble through the trees with AIDEON leading. Their lanterns die one by one. From behind, laughter echoes — not human, not beast. The trees seem to breathe.
A creature leaps from above — all limbs and teeth. AIDEON rams a stick of firewood into its mouth, buying seconds. He sees its skin crawling with sigils that shift like smoke.
One child runs, and a clawed hand snatches her mid-step. Silence follows except for the tearing sound.
Cassiel starts to pray. AIDEON whispers, "Don't. God's not here tonight."
---
They reach a cliff where the moon barely glows through ash-colored clouds. The creatures herd them from the shadows like wolves.
AIDEON sees one — tall as a man, skin dripping black, eyes like wet glass. He shoves Anastasia and Cassiel toward a fallen log for cover.
The demon lunges. AIDEON swings a burning branch — too slow. Its jaws crush his leg. He screams, blood hissing in the cold air.
He strikes again and again until the flame gutters out. The monster laughs, voice scraping like metal: "Run, little lights. Run."
AIDEON falls. Cassiel drags him, crying. He shoves his siblings away:
> "Go! Go until the stars end!"
They run into the woods. AIDEON's vision fades to black.
---
He wakes to silence and the stink of rot. His leg ends in ruin. The world pulses red and grey.
Far ahead, muffled screams — Anastasia's, then Cassiel's. He crawls, leaving a trail of black blood. He sees the creatures gathered around a larger shape — the size of a house, wearing faces like masks. His siblings vanish beneath its shadow.
AIDEON's mind breaks open. He drags himself toward the river, whispering their names until his voice is gone. The demons follow, toying with him — pushing him with laughter, never striking the final blow. He finds a cave, mouth gaping like the earth's wound.
The demons halt, hissing, retreating. Something inside the cave makes even them afraid.
---
He drags himself into the cave.
The cave breathes cold. AIDEON collapses, body half-gone, heart fluttering. The dark speaks — slow, curious:
> "Why do you weep, my boy?"
He tries to pray but no words come.
> "I can end your pain. I can give you your body… your vengeance."
He sobs, "Yes."
> "For a price."
"I have nothing left."
Torches ignite with black flame. Drums rise from the stone. Shadows twist into three ancient women — eyes like dying suns. They tear what remains of him apart, pull from him a blue flame. The cavern shudders as a voice swallows it:
> "Thy blood is mine, thy flesh reborn. Rise, servant of Draneth — the Whisper Beyond the Veil."
The black fire consumes the cave. His bones knit, his eyes open — violet, glowing. The chapter ends with his first breath as something neither dead nor alive.
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