The river didn't ripple.
It opened.
A clean wound through the moonlit surface—water split into two churning walls as the guardian's massive form hauled itself onto the bank.
Stone arms. Cracked bone-mask. Six burning white eyes searching the darkness.
Zoya froze behind the reeds, breath caught in her throat.
Manraj was still unconscious on her shoulder, glowing faintly with that unstable silver-white burn. Every time the guardian's voice rolled across the river, his body jerked—like something inside him was listening even when he wasn't.
Zoya pulled him closer.
"Stay down," she whispered. "Please… not now."
But the guardian lifted its head.
And it smelled them.
Its voice rumbled across the bank:
"ERYTH.
YOU CANNOT HIDE FROM WHAT MADE YOU."
Zoya's pulse spiked.
"I'm not hiding," she muttered. "I'm trying not to die."
She crouched low and dragged Manraj toward the remnants of an old retaining wall. Broken stone. Overgrown roots. A place the guardian might overlook—if the world was kind for once.
It wasn't.
The guardian planted its massive hand on the riverbank. The ground tilted under its weight, loose stones tumbling toward the water.
Zoya lost her footing.
Manraj slipped from her shoulder—
She caught him by the wrist at the last second.
"NO—!
Come on, come on—Manraj—"
His fingers twitched but didn't grip back.
The guardian's shadow fell over them.
Zoya's veins went cold.
"…Not like this."
She pressed Manraj against the stone wall and stood in front of him—breath ragged, palms shaking, Silence gathering around her in thin, unstable pulses.
A whisper left her:
"Azhar… if you're alive… now would be a REALLY good time."
No answer. No shadows. Only the guardian rising higher.
It leaned down, bone-mask splitting wider, white glow bleeding through the cracks like a lantern buried in ribs.
Zoya swallowed.
"Fine," she whispered, lifting her hands.
"Then you come through me."
Silence surged—
—but sputtered halfway out, flickering like a dying flame.
Zoya gasped, knees buckling.
"No—no—why now—?!"
Her Silence wasn't responding.
Not failing.
Resisting.
As if the guardian's presence was forcing it back into her lungs.
The guardian's eyes flared brighter.
It reached toward Manraj.
"RETURN.
CORE-BEARER."
Zoya moved on instinct.
She threw herself in front of the hand—
even though she knew she couldn't stop it.
The guardian didn't even look at her.
It reached through her Silence like it was air.
Its fingers brushed Manraj's shirt—
And the symbols on his chest exploded to life.
White.
Silver.
Amber.
A shockwave burst outward.
Zoya was hurled backward into the reeds.
The guardian staggered.
For the first time.
It recoiled—white cracks racing across its arm like shattered porcelain.
Zoya pushed herself upright, coughing, hair matted with river mud.
"What… what was that…?"
The glow around Manraj intensified—
and something like a voice pushed through the air, layered and ancient:
"You will not claim him."
Zoya froze.
That wasn't Manraj's voice.
That was—
The guardian roared, shaking half the river.
Its mask split further, exposing a hollow cavity glowing from within.
It lunged again—
not at Zoya.
At Manraj.
"No—DON'T—!"
Zoya sprinted toward them, Silence finally answering her—
She didn't reach them.
Because the ground between them burst open, shadow spiraling upward like a geyser of black smoke—
And Azhar stepped out of it.
Bleeding. Breathing hard. Eyes glowing with something dangerous.
He didn't look human.
Not right now.
One command left his mouth, rough and shaking:
"GET.
AWAY.
FROM.
HIM."
The guardian reared back—more in surprise than fear.
Zoya stared.
"Azhar… you…"
But he didn't take his eyes off the guardian.
Shadows swarmed around his arms like living armor.
His voice dropped into a growl:
"I said he doesn't return."
The guardian lowered its massive head.
"SHADOW-BEARER.
THIS IS NOT YOUR WAR."
Azhar's jaw set.
"Then stop threatening the people I chose."
Shadows exploded upward.
The guardian roared.
Zoya pulled Manraj close as the two forces collided—
Shadow vs. Stone.
Ancient vs. Awakened.
Azhar vs. a creature older than the gods.
And for the first time—
The guardian stepped back.
Just half a step.
But enough.
Zoya exhaled a shaking breath.
"…Azhar… you're alive."
He didn't turn.
Didn't blink.
Didn't waver.
He only said:
"Not for long if you don't get him out. MOVE."
Zoya swallowed.
She lifted Manraj again, heart pounding.
"Azhar—"
"GO!"
The guardian roared in fury—
and the riverbank cracked open beneath all of them.