The moment the High Guardian spoke the words soul-bond, the air in the chamber thickened—heavy, breathless, almost suffocating.
Amelia's pulse hammered in her ears.
"W-what do you mean… soul-bond?" she whispered.
Kael stood perfectly still beside her, but the energy around him shifted—shadows tightening, wings half-manifesting behind him in pure, instinctive rage.
The High Guardian stepped closer, expression grave.
"A soul-bond is older than vows. Older than reincarnation. It is the binding of essence to essence."His gaze lingered on Amelia."Once formed, it survives death. Survives rebirth. Survives worlds."
Amelia's breath trembled."So… the Devourer and I… we…"
Kael cut in, voice sharp as a blade:
"No. She doesn't belong to him."
The Guardian didn't flinch.
"I didn't say she belongs to him."A pause."But the bond is real."
Kael's fists clenched until his knuckles cracked.
Amelia touched the glowing mark again—hesitant, scared, curious.
The warmth beneath her fingertips surged—
—then exploded into a vision.
A world of black stone and burning skies.A man—no, a monster—kneeling before her.Horns curved. Wings torn. Shadows dripping like blood.His head bowed as he whispered:"Take my name, little light, and bind me to your soul."
Amelia jerked back with a gasp.
Kael caught her immediately."What did you see?"
She stared at him, voice shaking.
"I saw him kneeling. In front of me. Like I was… something important. Something powerful."
Kael's expression darkened.
"Don't believe the memory. He's showing you what he wants you to see."
But Amelia shook her head desperately.
"No—Kael—this wasn't something he forced into my mind. It felt like… like remembering a song I used to know. Like something real."
Kael finally broke.
He grabbed her shoulders, pulling her against him, forehead pressed to hers.
"I can't lose you to him," he whispered, voice breaking."I won't."
Her eyes softened, heart twisting painfully.
She reached up, touching his cheek.
"You're not losing me."
But even as she said it, the mark on her collarbone pulsed—
—once.
—twice.
And then—
Her pulse synced with another heartbeat.Not her own.His.
The Devourer's.
Amelia gasped, collapsing to her knees.
Chains rattled beneath the city.
Kael dropped beside her in an instant.
"Amelia! Look at me—stay with me—!"
But she couldn't.
Her vision blurred.
Her body trembled.
The world flickered—
—and then reality cracked open around her.
A phantom hand brushed her cheek, tender, possessive, ancient.
"You remember a little," the Devourer whispered.His voice wrapped around her like silk and smoke."But I will make you remember everything."
Kael snarled, wings erupting fully now—dark, fallen, furious.
"Get out of her mind!"
The Devourer laughed softly.
"I never left."
A shockwave blasted the room.
Amelia screamed—
—not in pain.
In recognition.
Because something inside her had opened.
Something sealed.
Something forbidden.
And from the depths of her own memory…
She whispered a name she didn't know she knew.
Not Kael's.
Not her own.
But his.
"Raeth…"
Kael's blood ran cold.
The High Guardian went pale.
And deep below the Sanctuary—
the final chain broke.