"Threading the Suns"
The shadows are quiet.
Not resting.
Waiting.
The air inside the chamber hangs unmoving, thick with held breath and stone dust, as if the world itself is afraid to interrupt what comes next.
Weaver stands at the center of the ritual circle, feet planted, spine straight. His threads rise slowly from his back — not delicate filaments this time, but broad, dense strands, layered and coiled, heavy with intention. They climb upward, spiraling into the indigo sky visible through the open ceiling.
His hands tremble.
Not fear — strain.
Weaver closes his eyes.
He reaches.
Not with thought, but with memory. With longing. With the instinct that once made him a guide instead of a thief.
Something… answer.
For a long moment, there is nothing.
Then—
The threads flare.
Red.
Weaver's breath catches. His eyes snap open, reflecting the sudden fire crawling along the strands.
"I've found Solara," he says, voice tight with effort and hope.
"We will start with this first. Be ready, Rose."
The threads tighten. Weaver pulls.
The resistance is immediate — violent. His shoulders tense, jaw locking as he drags the burning current downward, inch by inch, until the threads arc and plunge toward the stone slab.
Allium's chest.
The moment contact is made, the room ignites.
Heat slams outward like a shockwave. Stone glows. Air screams. Everyone flinches back as Solara floods the chamber, raw and merciless.
Allium screams.
It is not a cry of fear — it is pain, pure and overwhelming, tearing from his throat as his body arches against the slab. Red light races across his skin, veins blazing like molten fault lines.
Rose moves instantly.
She throws a wave of frost — not to freeze, not to fight — but to cool, to cradle the heat just enough to keep him from burning alive.
The scream breaks.
It collapses into labored, animal grunts as Allium's body shakes beneath the competing forces.
Weaver's hands shake harder now. Sweat beads on his brow, dripping down his face.
"I don't think he can take it," Weaver says, strain creeping into his voice.
"I need to stop—"
"DON'T STOP!"
Allium's voice erupts from the fire, hoarse and echoing, carrying through the chamber with a will that refuses to die.
"I CAN DO THIS!"
The red glow surges — then slows.
It begins to sink inward.
Allium's body jerks upright, fists clenched so tightly his knuckles whiten. He sits up halfway, teeth grinding audibly as Solara's energy is dragged, inch by inch, into him.
Red sweeps across his muscles — outlining strength, rage, survival — and then fades.
He gasps.
"Present," he forces out, breath ragged but anchored.
Rose is already at his side.
"Dear gods," she says quietly, hands hovering, afraid to touch.
"Are you okay?"
Allium exhales sharply. Heat rolls off him in uneven waves, his internal balance visibly off.
"There's… too much of… one," he says through clenched teeth.
The orange glow beneath his skin flickers — and starts turning red again.
Weaver doesn't hesitate.
He throws his reach upward once more.
Higher.
Farther.
His trembling hands rise with the threads as his eyes lock onto something unseen.
Blue floods the strands.
"I have Virel's energy," Weaver says urgently.
"Rose — move aside!"
Rose steps back.
The threads descend.
The instant they touch Allium's chest, blue light detonates through the chamber — not heat, not force, but memory.
Visions slam into everyone at once.
Jax staggers.
For a heartbeat, he sees Lyra — but wrong. Her eyes are too still. Her mouth moves, accusing without sound. Dead soldiers stand behind her, watching, waiting.
Thane gasps, dropping to one knee as the world fractures around him. He runs — again — through collapsing battlefields, past champions screaming for help, his feet moving while others die because he didn't stop.
Weaver stiffens.
A calm, powerful voice slips through the noise, directly into his mind.
Thief.
His blood runs cold.
But he does not let go.
Rose and Cassidy move in together, placing their hands on Weaver's arms, anchoring him. The pressure rolls past them — heavy, invasive — but it does not crush them.
The blue light pours into Allium.
His veins glow Virel-blue, branching like rivers beneath his skin — then slowly dim.
Allium trembles.
Still burning.
Still hearing echoes.
"Present," he says again, shakier now, barely upright.
Weaver sways.
Once more, he reaches.
Higher than before.
This time, what he feels slides away.
"Nexon…" Weaver murmurs, breath hitching.
"It's giving me trouble. Hold still."
Allium's breathing turns harsh.
His heart pounds loud enough to hear.
Voices flood in — not visions this time, but truths sharpened into knives.
Late.
Killer.
Parasite.
Allium collapses.
His body seizes violently against the stone, eyes rolling back as the voices tear through him.
Rose spins toward Weaver.
"Hurry!"
Weaver snarls, teeth bared, and grabs.
The threads explode into neon purple.
They hiss — pulling, resisting, alive in a way the others were not.
Weaver looks at Rose, fear finally naked in his eyes.
"This one will be the hardest," he says.
"I don't know how we can help him — but we will try."
He forces the Nexon current downward.
The chamber erupts.
Purple storms lash the air. Thane, Cassidy, and Jax are thrown flat, pinned by unyielding pressure as the ground vibrates beneath them.
Rose and Weaver barely stay standing.
Rose pushes forward — one step, then another — each movement burning as Nexon's energy lashes against her skin.
She reaches the slab.
She wraps her arms around Allium's convulsing body and holds him.
The Nexon energy burns through her, screaming against her presence — and she lets it.
She pours herself into him.
Slowly, the purple glow begins to fade.
Allium's nerves pulse violet — then dim.
Silence crashes down.
Allium lies still.
Too still.
Rose watches his chest.
Nothing.
Then—
Neon orange creeps back through his veins.
She exhales, collapsing against him.
Weaver approaches, one trembling thread extending to feel for life.
"He's breathing," Weaver says softly.
"He feels… balanced again."
Cassidy lets out a weak laugh, sinking against the wall.
"That was terrifying," she says.
"I'm taxed from the last two days. Dear god."
Thane chuckles hoarsely, draping an arm around her shoulders.
"I could really use a drink," he mutters.
"And Allium definitely needs one."
Jax manages a small, crooked smile.
"So, Weaver," he says.
"Is he gonna be okay?"
Weaver doesn't answer immediately.
"I've never threaded sun energy before," he admits.
"But… he does seem stable."
Allium's eyes open.
Neon orange fills his irises.
He sits up slowly, inspecting his arms, the faint sparks still dancing beneath his skin.
"That," he says quietly,
"is much better."
Rose places her hand over his.
"You seem better."
Allium looks at her — really looks.
She's different.
"You went to Virel," he says.
"You passed."
Rose smiles.
"Yes," she replies.
"But not alone."
Cassidy steps forward, rolling up her sleeve to reveal the glowing blue mark.
"That's right," she says proudly.
"Mama's got a gift."
Allium's eyes widen.
"It's beautiful," he says.
"You passed as well."
Cassidy grins.
"Yep. Just to save you from sunburn."
Allium's smile fades.
"You shouldn't have almost died to save me."
Weaver steps closer.
"But we did," he says gently.
"And if not for all of you—" he gestures to Rose, Cassidy, Jax, and Thane,
"—I wouldn't have been able to do it. It's good to see you, Allium."
Allium stands, stretching. Energy pulses unevenly through him and he nearly stumbles.
"I don't think I've fully integrated this yet."
Rose steadies him without hesitation.
They turn to leave.
Outside—
The sky shifts.
Neon purple spreads across the heavens.
And then—
It splits.
Not with thunder.
Not with light.
But with presence.
Varos has returned.