Night settled over the city with a threatening stillness—the kind of silence that arrives only when something ancienthas opened its eyes again.
Amelia slept in the Sanctuary's inner chamber,surrounded by glowing seals, incense smoke,and wards humming softly like trapped fireflies.
But none of it mattered.
Because the thing beneath the city—the Devourer—had found her.
And tonight…
it wanted more.
The Nightmare That Wasn't a Nightmare
Amelia's dream began in darkness.
A vast cavern.Red mist.Chains stretching endlessly into the shadows.
Then—
clink.
A single chain snapped.
A second followed.
Then the darkness spoke:
"Little light…"
Amelia froze.
Its voice slithered around her like smoke, warm and cold at once.
"You cannot run from me.You were mine long before you were human."
Her breath hitched.
Behind her, a massive shape lifted its head—horns scraping stone,wings dragging against the floor,a body stitched from shadows and scars.
But its eyes—one red, one silver—stared at her with an emotion she had never expected:
possession.
"Come back to me, Ame-lia."
Her knees trembled.
"W-why are you calling me that?What do you want from me?"
The monster leaned in.
His breath was heat and ice combined.
"You."
Kael Wakes Up Across the Sanctuary
Kael bolted upright in his own chamber,cold sweat dripping down his spine.
Her qi was flaring again—but this time, something else moved with it.
Something wrong.
Something claiming.
Kael grabbed his blade and sprinted down the Sanctuary corridors,ignoring the celestial guards shouting behind him.
He didn't stop.Not until he crashed through the door to Amelia's room.
And froze.
Amelia Floating Above the Bed
Her body hovered mid-air,hair swirling like a storm,eyes glowing with faint red light.
A voice—not hers—whispered through the chamber:
"She hears me now."
Kael's rage snapped.
"Get out of her."
A deep, rumbling laugh echoed all around him.
"Ah… the Fallen Prince.Still trying to protect what you can never keep."
Kael clenched his jaw.
"You think she'll go with you?After everything you've done?"
The Devourer's shadow coiled around Amelia's floating form.
"She came to me first.In every lifetime."
Amelia gasped—her voice trembling, breaking, terrified.
"Kael… make it stop—please—"
Kael reached for her—
—but the shadow struck first.
A tendril wrapped around Amelia's wrist.
She screamed.
Her qi flickered violently.
The Monster Reveals the Truth
The Devourer's voice dropped to a soft whisper.
Almost tender.
"Do you remember, little light?Before this body…Before this world…You walked beside me."
Amelia shook her head, tears slipping down her cheeks.
"No… no, that's not true—!"
Another tendril stroked her cheek.
Almost gentle.
Almost loving.
"You were my dawn.And I—was your ruin."
Kael's heart cracked.
Because she responded—
not with rejection…
…but with recognition.
Something buried deep inside hertwitched.
Awakened.
Called back.
"No…" Amelia whispered, clutching her chest. "No, no—why does that feel—"
Kael's Breaking Point
Kael stepped between her and the shadows,blade blazing with celestial fire.
He didn't care if it burned him from the inside.
"You don't get to touch her," he growled."Not again. Not in any lifetime."
The Devourer chuckled.
"You still believe she belongs to you?"
"Not to me."
Kael lifted the blade.
"But she damn sure doesn't belong to you."
The Monster Tightens Its Hold
The ground rumbled.
Chains deep beneath the city rattled.
Shadows thickened,wrapping around Amelia's ankles,her arms,her waist.
Pulling her down.
Pulling her toward the cavern.
Toward him.
Amelia cried out in fear—
but also something else.
Something dangerously close to longing.
"Why… why do I feel like this…?"
Kael's voice cracked.
"Because he's twisting your past.Your real memories are sealed for a reason."
The Devourer whispered in her ear:
"Come home, little light…"
Amelia Chooses
And then—
Amelia's eyes snapped open.
Red and gold clashing.
She screamed—
and the entire Sanctuary shook.
The shadow tendrils shattered.
The Devourer roared in fury.
Kael caught her before she hit the ground,her trembling body collapsing into his arms.
But the monster's final words echoed through the room:
"You can delay…but you cannot deny her fate."
"She is mine."
The shadows vanished.
Silence fell.
Amelia clutched Kael's shirt, shaking.
"Kael… what am I?"
He pulled her closer, voice low, raw, shaking with fear and love both.
"I don't know yet," he whispered,
"but I'm not losing you.Not to him.Not to fate.Not ever."
Her fingers curled into him.
For the first time…
she believed him.