The village was a mess of broken stone, ripped rooftops, and feathers in the air. The only loud sound in Envale was Silvia's sharp, harsh breathing. Everyone felt the dangerous shift. Even Melody stopped mid-step, her fingers pausing over her harp strings. The mist hanging low over the battlefield suddenly seemed to turn cold.
Silvia walked forward, steady and slow. She moved like someone who had nothing left to lose, every step leaving a slight tremor in the ruined ground. Eleanor tightened her grip on her axe, watching her friend with concern. Silvia's power was breaking apart, like sparks that kept dying out, uncontrolled and dangerous. Lucy whispered, "Oh no, she's lost control." Peter just clenched his jaw, his eyes darting between Silvia and the smiling enemy. Allen's body was behind them, shielded by a small heap of rubble, but Silvia never looked back.
She whispered, "Don't touch my family."
Then she moved too fast to track. The speed was desperate, not skilled. The ground cracked where she had been standing, leaving a tiny crater.
Melody smiled, a picture of calm in the disaster. "Oh? Finally."
Silvia's sword hit the air, breaking the air itself like glass. The sound was a sharp, focused crack. She swung again, and the physical force tore a visible path through the dense, unnatural mist, making Melody stumble backward just a single step. Eleanor charged right after her, knowing Silvia couldn't fight alone in that state. The burning pulse in Eleanor's chest was back, but she ignored the feeling and moved harder, trying to reach Melody before the creature could recover.
Melody quickly recovered, spinning her harp so the strings faced forward like a shield. The sound they made was not music; it was a crushing, invisible pressure that pushed against the air. Silvia stopped for half a second, her mind trying to process the strange defense. In that tiny moment, Melody flicked her wrist. Thrum. A sharp, cutting note snapped out like a whip. Peter saw it coming.
"Silvia! Get down!"
He shoved himself forward, grabbed her shoulder, and pulled her backward just as the sound wave hit the street, blasting a crater five feet wide in the ground where they had stood a moment before.
Silvia blinked, confused and gasping. "Peter?"
He held her tight, his voice ragged. "Get control. He wouldn't want you to die for nothing."
The mention of Allen's wishes hit Silvia hard. Her breath caught, and she looked ready to fall apart, the uncontrolled energy in her body flickering low.
Then Eleanor stepped past both of them to face Melody, her voice hard as steel. "No more games," she said, her voice low.
Melody raised an eyebrow, adjusting her grip on the harp. "Oh? Ready to fight for real, little spark?"
The heat inside Eleanor flared again, strong enough to burn the back of her throat. It felt like her body was trying to melt down. She set her feet firmly, focusing entirely on the enemy. "I just need to make you stop talking."
Melody's smile turned sharp, her eyes gleaming with malice. "Then try."
Their clash was instant and explosive. Eleanor moved first, flames bursting from her wings in a brilliant, golden flash. Her axe cut through the fog in a clean arc. Melody blocked with pure sound, raising the harp strings like a barrier. The vibration shook the entire village, rattling the teeth in Eleanor's skull. The shock hurt Eleanor's bones, but she didn't stumble. Lucy and Robert, seeing the opening, jumped in, hitting Melody from the side with combined force. Melody slid back instantly, her boots scraping two deep, parallel lines in the dirt.
She laughed, a high, mocking sound that somehow also felt heavy. "Oh, that almost hurt," she sang. "How adorable."
Peter frowned, looking at the crater near his feet. "She's just playing with us. She hasn't even broken a sweat."
"I know," Lucy growled, her face set in a grim mask. "We're wasting time."
Silvia stepped up, her voice now steady and firm, the raw grief channeled into cold, powerful purpose. "I'm done losing people today."
Melody's eyes flickered to her, the amusement fading slightly. "No, sweetheart. You're just starting."
She plucked three strings on her harp with precise movements. The notes were dissonant and harsh. Three huge monsters, made of twisted, solid sound, burst from the ground like pillars of dark energy. They roared without making a sound, only an overwhelming pressure.
Robert, grabbing a broken piece of lumber, immediately engaged the first one. Peter focused his own strength on slowing the second. Eleanor blocked the third one before it reached Silvia, her axe exploding with light as she tried to chop the intangible creature down.
Melody started humming, the melody deceptively simple and sweet. "And now," she said softly, her voice carrying over the sounds of battle, "let's see who breaks."
Eleanor's heart hammered a frantic rhythm against her ribs. The heat inside her body kept building, climbing her throat, burning beneath her skin. She tried desperately to hold it back, to keep the enormous energy in check. But Melody's music was specifically targeting her, wrapping around her like a tightening rope, a psychic attack on her control. The harp strings glowed brighter with every note. The air around Eleanor squeezed tight. Eleanor's pulse spiked, roaring in her ears. It was too bright, too hot, too much energy to contain.
"Eleanor!" Lucy shouted, trying to fight past the sound monster to reach her. "Don't let her control you!"
She tried, focusing on Lucy's voice, on the cold iron of the axe handle in her hands, but the attack was aimed directly at her heart, at the core of her power. Melody smiled, triumphant. "There it is, little sun. Burn for me." Then Eleanor felt her control break completely. Wild, blinding, painful light burst from her wings and her skin, forcing a shockwave outward that knocked everyone back. Melody's eyes widened, finally losing her calm look.
"Oh," she whispered, shielding her face from the glare. "That's new."
Meredith's team rushed into the canyon, exhausted and battered. The air was thick with dark, leftover power that felt heavy in their lungs. Katya stood at the center, breathing hard, her eyes glowing a deep, unnatural red that cast strange shadows on the canyon walls.
Theo stopped, dropping his heavy shield. "Katya? Why are your eyes glowing so fiercely?" he asked, concern overriding his fighting spirit.
Katya was stiff, her body rigid with tension. "Why are you all here? How did you find me?"
Zak held his hands out, trembling, not from fear of Katya, but from fear for her. "Katya, please. Don't listen to him. We can fix this. We've been looking for you. We care about you."
A low, rumbling voice snorted behind her, heavy with malice. "Enough." Vorlag stepped forward, shadows wrapped around him like thick, black armor. "They are lying. They fear you. They know what you can become. I'm the only one trying to help you become stronger."
Meredith took a fighting stance, her own magic swirling around her hands. "Stay behind me, everyone. We don't know how much dark power she has right now, or if she can control it."
Lyra's eyes glowed a gentle gold as she studied Katya, her expression one of deep worry. "She's only halfway taken over by the darkness."
Meredith snapped her head toward the Seraphim. "Halfway? What does that mean?"
Lyra nodded, her gaze steady. "There's still time. But if she attacks first, we must fight as if she were fully dark. Hesitating will get us killed, and it won't save her either."
Katya finally spoke, her voice shaky but recognizable, laced with a strange echo. "Don't do something you'll regret. I can't stop it when it takes over."
Meredith's expression softened slightly, seeing the fear in the girl's eyes. "We should be telling you that. Why are you trusting a dark being that only wants to use you?"
Katya's red eyes shook, and for a split second, her bright green eyes flashed through the red, a brief moment of her true self fighting back. "H, huh?"
That tiny break in the dark control made Vorlag explode with rage. His shadow body broke apart and reformed instantly into his true, terrifying self: Onyx Spectre. Black, ragged wings spread out, blocking the last of the canyon sunlight.
"Enough games," his voice boomed, echoing off the stone walls. "Katya. Fight them. Now. Or I will command you."
Katya stumbled back, grabbing her head with both hands, a choked sound escaping her throat. "What, NO! I won't!"
Onyx Spectre's enormous wings flared, releasing a rush of icy cold air. "You will obey. The power is already inside you. Don't force me to tear it out and use it myself."
Katya was shaking, her power flashing wildly between healthy green and corrupted red. The ground beneath her began to smoke.
Meredith looked at Lyra, her face pale. "How much time do we have, Lyra? Be honest."
Lyra's eyes, glowing brightly, focused on Katya. "Not long. The longer he talks, the deeper the roots of the darkness go. If that dark power takes full root, she's done for, and we will have a new enemy we can't stop."