The cave entrance was a jagged maw in the mountainside, glowing faintly silver. Inside, the air hummed with wrongness—not the Devourer's chaotic hunger, but a **cold, ordered silence**.
They moved in formation: Garrick and freed Blades in front, Lyra and Elara in the center, Bastian and Kael on the flanks. Bastian's **Void-Forged lantern** cast no light, only deepened the shadows, shielding them from the cave's ambient starlight.
Then they heard it—**singing**.
Dozens of voices, pure and high, chanting in unison:
*"We are the Chosen. We are the Light. We will burn the shadows clean."*
Elara froze. "It's them. The children."
They rounded a bend and stopped dead.
The cavern opened into a vast chamber, its ceiling open to the bleeding star. Below, **fifty children** stood in perfect circles, eyes glowing silver, hands raised. In the center, on a floating disc of light, stood the **Star-Eater**—tall, robed in woven starlight, face hidden behind a mask of solidified moonlight. Before him, a child—no older than ten—was suspended in mid-air, screaming soundlessly as silver threads wove into her chest.
"The anchor," Lyra whispered. "He's using her to widen the rift."
Kael signaled the attack.
Garrick and the freed Blades charged, not with blades, but with **void-snares**—nets woven from Bastian's starsteel thread. They tackled the outer children, wrapping them gently, muffling their chants.
Elara stepped forward, her voice shifting—not to mimic, but to **harmonize**. She sang a lullaby Lena had taught her, soft and warm. The children nearest her faltered, their silver eyes flickering.
But the Star-Eater turned. His mask tilted toward Elara. "**You sing of warmth, little ghost. But warmth is weakness. Light is purity.**"
He raised a hand. A bolt of **true light** lanced toward her.
Kael phased in front of her, **Void Sovereign** flaring. The light struck his chest—and **burned**. His tunic charred. His skin blistered. He fell to one knee, gasping.
"Kael!" Lyra rushed to him, pouring Soul-Balm on the wound. It hissed like water on hot iron.
Bastian roared, hurling a starsteel dagger. It flew true—but the Star-Eater caught it mid-air. The blade **melted** into liquid light in his palm. "**Your void is quaint. But the stars are eternal.**"
Then the inner circle of children turned as one. Their eyes blazed. They raised their hands—and the cave **shook**. Stone groaned. The rift above pulsed wider.
Lyra looked at Kael, her eyes fierce. "We can't fight him. We have to break the anchor."
Kael nodded, pain etching his face. "Garrick—distract him. Bastian—cut the threads. Elara—keep singing. Lyra… get ready to run."
He stood, blood dripping from his chest, and walked toward the Star-Eater. Not to attack. To **speak**.
"You think light is purity," Kael said, his voice raw but steady. "But light without shadow is blindness. You're not saving them. You're **erasing** them."
The Star-Eater tilted his head. "**And what are you, Empty One? A shadow? Shadows are nothing.**"
Kael smiled, a thin, bloody thing. "Shadows are where memories live."
He activated **Soul-Shroud**—not to hide, but to **project**. He poured every memory of the children they'd saved into the void around him:
- Lissa's doll
- Lena's drawings
- The baker's loaf
- Bastian's first *clang*
The Star-Eater recoiled. "**Stop! This is chaos! This is pain!**"
In that moment of distraction, Bastian lunged. His starsteel garrote sliced through the silver threads binding the anchor child.
The girl fell. Lyra caught her.
"**RUN!**" Kael roared.
As the Crimson Lotus fled the collapsing cavern, the Star-Eater's enraged scream echoed behind them: *"YOU CANNOT HIDE FROM THE STARS!"*
> **[QUEST: RESCUE ANCHOR CHILD.]**
> **[SUCCESS: PARTIAL. RIFT CONTAINS.]**
> **[REWARDS: VOID RESISTANCE +20%, STARSTEEL MASTERY.]**
> **[KAEL: VIT -2 (LIGHT BURN), WIS +1 (INSIGHT: STAR-EATER'S WEAKNESS = MEMORY).]**
> **[WARNING: SKY-RIFT STABILIZED. STAR-EATER PREPARING FINAL ASCENSION.]**
Outside, the anchor child—a girl named Mira—clung to Lyra, her silver eyes fading to brown. "He promised… stars," she whispered. "But stars don't sing."
Kael looked up at the bleeding sky. The war wasn't over.
It was just entering its final phase.