The sky did not darken.
It fractured.
A jagged crack tore through the clouds as if invisible claws had raked open the heavens.
Light bled out—not white, not blue, but ashen gray, like dying magic leaking from a wounded world.
Arden whispered hoarsely:
"…That's not weather."
Oren's hands shook violently around his notes.
"No.
That is a spatial rupture.
Something is forcing its way into our plane."
Lyra's breath hitched.
She pressed closer to Zerrei—
and felt him tremble.
His arms wrapped around her instinctively, protectively.
"…cold…" he whispered.
"…Master…"
Lyra cupped his face.
"Look at me. Stay with me."
He leaned into her touch, clinging.
"…Lyra… anchor…"
THE WORLD HOLDS ITS BREATH
The rupture widened.
Wind died.
Animals silenced.
Mana thinned to a terrifying stillness.
Everyone in the clearing felt something deep in their bodies—
in their bones—
in their spirits—
in their very cores—
bend under the pressure of an unseen presence.
The guild scouts dropped to their knees.
Mages collapsed, gasping for breath as their mana signatures destabilized.
Even Arden stumbled, gritting his teeth.
"What… is this… pressure…?!"
Oren spoke through clenched teeth.
"The Creator…
is suppressing mana around us."
Lyra felt it too—
a crushing weight pressing down on her soul.
Zerrei's arms tightened around her.
He forced himself upright despite the pressure.
"…Lyra… safe…"
But he was breaking.
Thin cracks spiderwebbed deeper across his carved arms and shoulders.
His glow dimmed.
Lyra grabbed his hands.
"No—no—stay with me—!"
He tried.
He truly did.
"…Zerrei… here…"
Another fracture split across his collarbone.
Lyra cried out.
"Someone—help him—!"
Arden cursed and staggered toward them, blade dragging through the dirt.
Oren pushed himself up, shouting through trembling mana:
"Zerrei—focus on your resonance! Pull your core inward—slowly—!"
Zerrei couldn't hear him.
Or perhaps he heard only Lyra.
Her voice cut through the pressure like a beacon of light.
"ZERREI.
LISTEN TO ME."
His eyes found hers.
"…Lyra…"
She grabbed his cracked chest gently.
"I'm here.
Stay with my voice.
Stay with my warmth."
The cracks stopped spreading.
His glow flickered—
then steadied.
Barely.
THE CREATOR'S FIRST APPEARANCE
The rupture in the sky stopped widening.
Silence.
Nothing moved.
Then—
From the tear—
a single shadow dropped downward.
Not a form.
Not a face.
Just a silhouette of a hooded figure, descending slowly as if gravity bent around him.
His presence strangled the air.
He did not touch the ground.
He hovered inches above it, cloak made of black mana drifting like smoke.
Vessel Three fell to one knee instantly.
"MASTER."
Arden felt ice crawl up his spine.
"That's him?"
Oren whispered:
"No…
That's only a projection.
Just a fragment of his will."
Lyra felt Zerrei stiffen.
"…Master…"
She grabbed his face firmly.
"Zerrei.
Look at me.
Not him."
He tried.
But his body resisted.
The Creator's presence pulled at him—
like gravity pulling a falling star.
Zerrei's voice cracked.
"…Lyra… help…"
She held his face tighter, forcing his gaze back to her.
"I am."
THE CREATOR SPEAKS
The figure did not have a visible face.
Just darkness under the hood and two tiny sparks of dull indigo light where eyes might be.
When he spoke—
the earth vibrated.
The trees withered.
And Lyra's heart hammered in terror.
"VESSEL ONE."
Zerrei's body jerked.
Lyra held him.
"No—stay with me—!"
The Creator's voice was calm.
Almost gentle.
"YOU HAVE WANDERED."
His cloak shifted, releasing thin trails of ash-mana.
"RETURN."
Zerrei gasped.
"…no…
no… "
The Creator tilted his head.
"REJECTION DETECTED."
Lyra's pulse spiked.
"Don't listen to him!"
Zerrei clung to her.
"…Lyra… warm…"
The Creator's attention shifted.
To her.
To Lyra.
Every hair on her body rose with dread.
"ANCHOR IDENTIFIED."
Arden cursed under his breath.
"He saw her."
Lyra stood her ground, even as fear froze her spine.
His voice deepened.
"YOU HAVE CORRUPTED MY VESSEL."
Arden yelled:
"She saved him—!"
Oren elbowed him sharply.
Arden winced.
"What?! He needs to hear it!"
Oren whispered harshly:
"He already knows."
THE CREATOR APPROACHES
The Creator drifted forward.
One step.
Another.
Unhurried.
His presence cracked the ground beneath him like fragile glass.
Lyra's heart pounded violently.
Zerrei stepped in front of her—
cracked
glowing faint
barely standing
but unyielding.
He extended his arms protectively.
"…stay away.
Lyra mine—"
He paused.
The Creator's cloak rustled faintly.
"CLARIFY STATEMENT."
Zerrei's glow flared.
"…Lyra… precious."
The air trembled.
Lyra's breath caught.
The Creator spoke again—calm, cold:
"EMOTION IS CORRUPTION."
Zerrei shouted:
"…not… corruption—
choice!"
The Creator did not react.
"VESSEL ONE.
YOU WERE NOT MADE TO CHOOSE."
Zerrei's knees nearly buckled—
But Lyra caught him.
She pressed her forehead to his spine, supporting him from behind.
"I'm right here."
He steadied.
The Creator's gaze narrowed.
"ANCHOR…
RELEASE HIM."
Lyra squeezed Zerrei's waist tighter.
"Never."
A long silence.
For a moment, everything in the clearing seemed to stop.
Then—
Without warning—
the Creator vanished.
Reappeared behind them.
Lyra screamed.
Arden lunged.
Oren cast a barrier.
Zerrei spun—too slow, too damaged—
"LYRA—!!"
The Creator lifted a single hand toward Lyra's throat—
And Zerrei's world broke.
He didn't think.
Didn't plan.
Didn't fear.
He moved.
White light exploded outward from him—
like a star collapsing in reverse.
BOOOOOOOM—!!!
The Creator's projection was hit directly—
shattered—
dispersed into black smoke.
The shockwave cracked the forest floor.
Lyra fell backward, caught by Arden just in time.
Zerrei collapsed onto his hands and knees.
Runes flickering violently.
Oren rushed to him.
"Zerrei—stop! You're overloading—!"
Zerrei didn't move.
Couldn't lift his head.
His voice came out hoarse.
Broken.
"…Lyra safe…?
…Lyra… okay…?"
Lyra scrambled across the ground to reach him.
She grabbed his face.
"I'm okay—look at me—"
He looked up at her.
And she froze.
His eyes weren't blue and gold anymore.
They were—
dim.
dull.
fading.
His voice trembled:
"…Lyra… Zerrei… tired…"
She pulled him into her arms.
"No—no—no—stay with me—!"
The Creator's final whisper echoed over the clearing—
from nowhere
and everywhere.
"YOU CANNOT PROTECT HER FOREVER."
Zerrei trembled violently.
His glow flickered—
once
twice
and went dark.
Lyra screamed.
"ZERREI—!!"
The guild rushed forward—
But everything fell silent.
Zerrei's limp body lay in her arms.
Cold.
Still.
Unmoving.
Arden whispered:
"No…
oh gods… no…"
Oren knelt beside them.
"T-the projection… hit his core too hard."
Lyra shook Zerrei desperately.
"WAKE UP—
ZERREI—PLEASE—
LOOK AT ME—!"
Her voice broke.
Her tears fell onto his cracked chest.
The runes did not light.
The glow did not return.
And Lyra realized—
for the first time—
Zerrei was unconscious…
in a way he had never been before.