Blood Reaper kneels beside Destiny, scooping her up with one arm.
Destiny winces, breath hitching.
"I… thought you were going to kill her…," said Destiny.
"I still might." Said Blood Reaper.
She places a glowing palm over the wound.
White-gold and black fire swirl together, healing the torn flesh, restoring her strength.
Destiny's wings flutter weakly.
"Thank you…," said Destiny.
Blood Reaper lifts her gently.
Then she grabs Constant with her other arm—slung over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
Blood Reaper turns toward the horizon—toward the direction Candy indicated.
A surge of dread pulses in the air.
Something old.
Something awakening.
Blood Reaper's wings flare.
"Come. We're finding a god." Said Blood Reaper.
Destiny nods, clutching the vial.
They vanish into the trees.
Joseph and Matthew stand behind a fallen log, faces pale.
The brothers exchange a look.
Matthew slowly lowers his phone, which he used to record the whole scene.
"Joseph?" Said Matthew.
"Yeah?" responded Joseph.
"We're not hunting her." Said Matthew.
"Definitely not." Said Joseph.
Matthew scribbles something in his notebook.
"But Candy? Said Matthew.
Pink demon girl?
That one we can take."
Joseph sighs.
"Matthew… she threw Constant into a tree." Said Joseph.
Matthew shrugs.
"So? Said Matthew.
My face is still too pretty to be bitten off, but I'll risk it."
Joseph rubs his forehead.
"We're gonna die." Said Matthew.
Matthew grins, pocketing his flask.
"Nah. We're just getting started." Said Joseph.
Blood Reaper, Destiny, and the unconscious Constant approach the ancient site.
The air feels wrong—heavier than gravity, thick with a metallic taste.
The ground is cracked, veins of glowing black and gold light pulsating beneath their feet.
At the center lies the Cage.
It is massive—black obsidian fused with silver chains that glow faintly.
Strange glyphs float around it like fireflies made of pure energy, shifting constantly.
The cage seems almost alive, quivering as they near.
As Blood Reaper steps closer, a powerful force lashes out:
The cage opens with a suction of shadow and wind, trying to drag her inside.
Her hair whips wildly, wings flaring, the staff igniting with celestial fire.
Blood Reaper slams her foot into the ground—an earth-shattering stomp—forcing the cage door to slam shut.
The chains tremble but cannot move her.
She glances at Destiny, holding her vial tight.
"He's not here… Elyon is no longer trapped." Said Blood Reaper.
Her eyes scan the glyphs along the obsidian wall.
She reads the last Temple inscription etched long ago:
"Elyon locked…
His brother reigns…
The wrong God sits the throne…
Creation twisted."
Her jaw tightens.
"The wrong God is ruling Earth. And he's creating…," said Blood Reaper.
The wind howls around the cage. It feels as if the planet itself trembles at her words.
"A war… is coming.
We need trillions…
Trillions of souls… to take on what's coming." Said Blood Reaper.
The glowing glyphs flare in response, almost whispering back warnings in a language older than time.
Destiny looks at her, fear and awe mixing.
"Trillions…? Blood Reaper… can we even do that?" said Destiny.
Blood Reaper's gaze hardens, her aura erupting like a miniature sun.
"We don't have a choice. If he's creating in Elyon's absence… every planet, every life he touches will become a weapon against us.
We start here, and we grow—every being who can fight, every being who will survive—we gather them." Said Blood Reaper.
The cage quivers again, sensing the plan forming in her mind.
A low hum vibrates in the air—the sound of the world itself warning of the coming chaos.
Blood Reaper spreads her wings, standing at full height.
"Let the war come.
We'll be ready." Said Blood Reaper.
The clearing was a graveyard.
Bodies lay scattered in twisted positions, blood streaked across the dirt in long drag marks, trees split open like something with claws had raked them apart. The air was metallic and heavy — the scent of terror lingering long after the screams had stopped.
Keuirseu stood at the center.
But it wasn't him.
His head tilted in that unnatural, predatory angle that belonged only to Shadow, and his eyes glowed with a darkness that wasn't human — or demonic — just void.
Shadow spoke through Keuirseu's mouth, but the voice carried layered echoes.
"They ran," he said, licking the blood off his fingers. "They always run."
The shadows around him thickened, swirling into a shape.
A tall figure stepped out — smooth, silent, the air dropping to winter-cold as she emerged.
Sol.
Her wings unfolded.
Her horns gleamed under the moon.
Her eyes locked onto Keuirseu — or rather, the thing inside him.
"You killed many," Sol said simply.
Shadow, wearing Keuirseu's face, smirked.
"I was bored."
Sol stepped forward, studying a corpse crushed beyond recognition.
"Your human body does well," she said. "Flexible. Strong. Terrified."
Shadow chuckled using Keuirseu's voice.
"Oh, he's screaming," he whispered.
"But he can't move. Can't stop me."
Sol nodded once.
"Good."
Then she turned her head sharply, sensing something before even Shadow did.
A flicker of teal light cut through the forest.
Then another.
Shadow lifted Keuirseu's hand, annoyed.
"Tch. Her."
The sky tore open in a streak of blue fire.
Nina descended like a meteor.
She hit the ground hard, cracking it in a wide circle. Flames erupted in a pillar around her, turning the corpses to glowing ash. Her crown burned bright, her eyes full of righteous fury.
She stared at Keuirseu — at Shadow inside him — and something inside her snapped.
"You…" Nina's voice trembled.
"You used him to kill them."
Shadow smirked through Keuirseu's blood-streaked lips.
"He enjoyed it."
"LIAR!" Nina screamed, and the woods shook.
Her flames exploded outward.
Her gaze shot to Sol.
"And you—"
Her voice was a blade.
"—you're working with the thing inside him?"
Sol just stared at her, motionless, wings rising like giant knives.
"Yes," Sol said.
"He commands. I kill."
Nina's eyes flared so brightly the shadows recoiled.
"You will NOT touch him again," she said, stepping forward.
"And I swear on Heaven's last breath—"
Her wings snapped open.
"—I'll burn the monster out of him myself."
Shadow tilted Keuirseu's head… amused.
Sol widened her fanged smile, eager.
And Nina's flames surged like a supernova.