Deep beneath the city, in a place untouched by sunlight or mercy, something ancient began to wake.
Stone cracked. Dust rose.Chains—massive, runed, older than empires—shuddered violently as a creature bound in the darkness stirred for the first time in centuries.
A single red eye snapped open.
And it whispered—
"A…me…lia…"
The cavern trembled.
A ripple of corrupted qi surged upward, traveling through earth and foundation like a pulse of hatred. It infected the roots of buildings, seeped into sewer water, slithered through abandoned tunnels.
It climbed.
Closer.Closer.Drawn to one thing.
Her awakening.
Back at the Courtyard
The moment the creature spoke her name, Amelia's vision blurred.
A stabbing pain lanced down her spine.
She staggered.
Kael caught her instantly. "Amelia—what's wrong?"
But she wasn't hearing Kael.
She was hearing something else.
A growl.A whisper.A chain dragging across stone.
Her pulse spiked.
"I—" Amelia swallowed hard. "Something is calling me."
Master Xuan's expression hardened.
"Not calling," he said grimly. "Hunting."
The celestials stiffened, turning toward the distant city.Their wings dimmed, edges flickering with alarm.
"It has awakened…" one murmured.
Kael's grip tightened around Amelia protectively.
"What has awakened?"
The lead celestial lifted a hand.
Above them, the sky rippled—revealing a faint, monstrous silhouette deep beneath the city, like a shadow trying to surface.
Master Xuan inhaled sharply.
"No… it can't be…"
"Xuan," Kael said, voice low, "what is that thing?"
Master Xuan Explains the Horror
"A Devourer," Master Xuan whispered. "One of the seven. Born from the first corruption. They were sealed away before the celestial wars ended—before human history even began."
Kael's jaw locked."I've only heard legends."
Amelia touched her chest as the pain twisted again."But why… why me?"
The celestial answered:
"Because you are the key that can unseal or destroy them."
The air turned cold.
Amelia froze.
"I—I don't know how to destroy anything," she said, voice trembling. "I can barely control what's happening to me."
The celestial's voice softened.
"You won't be alone."
Kael stepped closer, almost instinctively, placing his hand lightly against the small of her back.His warmth steadied her.
"You shouldn't face that thing. Not yet. Not without training."
Master Xuan nodded firmly.
"We move her to the Hidden Sanctuary tonight. She needs time—time to stabilize her awakening."
But before Amelia could speak—
The earth beneath them shook.
Violently.
Dust fell from the courtyard walls.Lanterns swung.The ground split open just a hair beneath her feet.
Kael pulled Amelia into his arms immediately.
Master Xuan snarled, forming protective sigils in the air.
The celestials spread their wings, radiance cracking through the darkness like lightning.
"It is rising faster than it should," the lead celestial warned.
"It wants her now."
The Devourer Reaches Out
From the crack in the earth, a tendril of shadow rose.Thin at first.Smoke-like.
Then it thickened—solidifying into a claw.
A monstrous, skeletal hand made of twisted darkness.
It reached toward Amelia.
Toward her heart.
Kael's sword flashed in an instant, slicing the air—but the shadow hand ignored him, passing through the blade like smoke.
Master Xuan pushed forward and slammed his palm to the ground.
"Sealing Formation—Seven Rings!"
Rings of golden light burst upward, caging the shadow hand.
It screeched, retreating slightly.
But not before it spoke again:
"Ameeeelia…Dawn's child…Unseal me…"
Amelia's blood ran cold.
"No…" she breathed. "No, I won't. I don't know you. Stay away from me—"
The Devourer laughed.
A low, rattling, bone-deep sound.
"You knew me once…before you fell into human flesh…"
Her knees buckled.
Kael caught her again, holding her tighter than before.
"Don't listen to it," he said, voice sharp and trembling. "You owe it nothing."
But Amelia felt something—a flicker in her chest, something ancient and trapped—
responding.
Not willingly.
Reflexively.
As if the monster beneath the earth knew her better than she knew herself.