The world snapped back into place—
—but Amelia was no longer standing on solid ground.
She was suspended between worlds, the disciple's hand still locked around hers, the demon's pull dragging at her like a raging tide.
"DON'T LET GO!" she screamed.
His grip tightened until their knuckles whitened."I won't. Not again."
The slayer shouted something behind them, runes igniting in a blazing circle, but his voice sounded warped, distant—as if they were already slipping out of his reach.
The crimson tear yawned wider, tendrils of demonic energy wrapping around Amelia's waist like serpents.
Azrael's voice thundered:
"Elyndra belongs to ME."
The disciple roared, pure fury ripping through him.
"No she doesn't!"
Black sigils erupted along his arms—marks Amelia had never seen before—marks he shouldn't have had.
The power wasn't slayer magic.
It was older.Darker.Forbidden.
Amelia's eyes widened.
"Those sigils—why do you have demonic markings?!"
He froze for half a heartbeat.
Then his face twisted—not in guilt, but in something deeper.
Shame.Pain.Truth.
"Because, Amelia—"his voice broke"—I wasn't born human."
A shockwave slammed into them.
"What?!" she choked.
"I was a hybrid," he said through gritted teeth, fighting the pull of the breach. "Half human. Half demon. It's why I was cast out of both worlds."
Her breath caught.
"You served a soul-queen in your first life… even though you were half demon?"
His jaw clenched."I swore my loyalty to you because you were the only being who ever saw me as more than a weapon."
Another tendril whipped around Amelia, dragging her closer to the rift.
The disciple snarled and pulled her back.
Azrael's laughter echoed.
"You think a half-breed can save you? He couldn't even save you the first time."
His grip faltered.
Amelia stiffened.
"The first time?" she whispered."What happened?"
Pain slashed across his face—the kind of pain that never healed.
"You died," he said quietly."And I—couldn't reach you in time."
Her heart dropped.
He had failed her.And he had carried that failure across lifetimes.
A surge of energy exploded through the breach.The disciple was thrown to his knees, still clutching her hand.
"GO!" he shouted. "Get away from the rift!"
She dug her heels into the cracking floor, pulling back with all her strength.
"I'm not leaving you!"
"You don't understand—" his voice cracked "—Azrael wants me too!"
The slayer finally reached them, driving his staff into the ground. Light exploded outward, sealing part of the tear.
"Both of you, HOLD ON!" the slayer commanded.
But Azrael pushed harder.
The air shook.Walls splintered.The ground began to collapse.
Azrael's voice curled like poison:
"You cannot escape destiny, Elyndra.Your true throne is in MY realm.And he—your precious protector—belongs to me as well."
Amelia's eyes widened."What does he mean—belongs—"
The disciple's expression turned hollow, anguished.
"Because," he whispered, "I wasn't just any demon hybrid."
The rift flared, engulfing them in red fire.
"I was created by Azrael's hand."
Amelia's scream tore through the collapsing world.
And Azrael's laughter swallowed the rest.