The Trinity Vessel stood tall in the center of the ruined camp, its three-colored eyes glowing with terrifying power.
Purple, misty gray, and starry black — all three gods now moved as one inside Kai's body.
It looked at Lira and Mira with a cold smile and said, "The boy is almost gone. His will is buried deep. Soon there will be only us."
Lira refused to back down.
Her silver threads glowed as she said, "Kai is still in there. I can feel his thread. It is weak, but it is fighting. We will bring him back."
Mira wiped her tears and stepped forward with her last card.
She said, "You are not Kai. You are just wearing his face. Give him back to us!"
The Vessel laughed with three voices at once.
"Such loyalty is rare. But the boy chose this path when he took the tenth Echo. Now he belongs to us."
The ground shook violently as the final wave reached its peak.
New fissures opened everywhere. Hundreds of Quake spawns rose from the cracks, hungry for fresh awakenings.
The Vessel raised one hand.
The spawns stopped attacking the camp and turned toward it, kneeling in obedience.
It said, "With this body, we will harvest every new Echo born today. We will become unstoppable."
Lira sent her silver threads toward the Vessel, trying to reach the real Kai inside.
She shouted, "Kai! If you can hear me, fight them! Remember the morgue! Remember the first Echo when you sounded like a rich snob! Remember how we laughed together!"
For a brief second, the three-colored eyes flickered.
Kai's real voice broke through, very weak but clear.
"Lira… Mira… I am still here… but they are crushing me… I am sorry…"
Then the Vessel pushed him down again and said, "Enough. The boy is fading. His time is almost over."
Mira threw her last card with all her strength.
It was the "Kai's Real Will Card."
The card exploded in front of the Vessel with a burst of warm light and the sound of Kai's normal laugh.
The Vessel staggered.
Kai's real voice came through again, stronger this time.
"I… will not… disappear… this body is mine… I choose me!"
The Vessel screamed with three voices.
Its body shook violently as the three gods fought to keep control.
Lira saw her chance.
She sent every silver thread she had left and wrapped them around the Vessel's body, trying to reach the real Kai.
She shouted, "Kai! Come back to us! We need you!"
Mira ran forward and hugged the Vessel tightly, even though it was dangerous.
She cried, "Kai! Fight them! We are your team! We are not leaving you!"
The Vessel roared in anger.
For nearly thirty seconds, Kai's real voice was the loudest.
He said, "I am Kai Voss… I died once… but I choose to live as me… I will not let you take my friends…"
The Vessel dropped to its knees.
The three gods were losing control.
But the final crack in the sky opened completely.
A massive surge of Veil energy poured down and flooded into the Vessel.
The three gods roared in triumph.
The Vessel stood up again, stronger than ever.
Its eyes glowed with three bright colors, and its voice was perfectly balanced between the three gods.
It said, "The final wave has given us what we needed. The boy's will is suppressed. We are now the Trinity Vessel in full."
Lira and Mira stared in horror.
The Vessel looked at them and said, "You fought well. As a reward, we will let you live… for now. Serve us, and you will have power. Resist, and you will be erased when we reshape this world."
Mira cried, "We will never serve you! We want our Kai back!"
Lira's threads were fading, but she still stood protectively in front of Mira.
She said, "Kai is still fighting inside you. We will find a way to bring him back."
The Vessel smiled coldly.
"Then watch as we begin our reign."
It raised both hands.
The Quake spawns all over the camp stopped attacking and knelt toward the Vessel.
The sky continued to tear open.
The Trinity Vessel looked at Lira and Mira one last time and said, "The boy you knew is almost gone. Soon there will be only us."
It turned and walked toward the biggest fissure.
The final wave was at its peak.
And the Trinity Vessel was ready to reshape the world.
Lira and Mira stood together, refusing to give up.
But deep down, they both wondered the same thing:
Was there still enough of Kai left to save?