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Asha didn't breathe for a second.
Not because she was shocked—though she was—but because she'd suspected it. Ever since the fifth life, ever since Miguel publicly announced that God Himself had ordered the release of the seals, she'd felt a quiet dread twisting inside her.
But hearing it aloud?
From Kael?
It made something cold and heavy settle in her stomach.
She swallowed. "If Miguel wants to end the world… why kill me first? Why not just let the seals break on their own?"
Kael glanced down the dark tunnel before answering. "Because you're the cage."
Asha blinked. "Excuse me?"
"The seals exist because you do," Kael said, stepping closer. His voice lowered—not a whisper, but something private, meant only for her. "If you die permanently, the Seals collapse. Instantly. All seven at once."
Her blood turned to ice.
She knew this, but she didn't know this.
Across six lives she'd been told a thousand half-truths and contradictions about her nature, her powers, her purpose. She knew she housed the Seals. She knew she was the safeguard against the Apocalypse.
But she didn't know that her death meant instant annihilation.
"How do you know that?" she whispered.
Kael didn't look away. "Because Miguel designed me to."
Asha stared at him. She'd heard those words before—"Miguel designed me"—but they hit different now. Harder. Heavier.
"So you're saying," she said slowly, "that my existence keeps the world alive. And Miguel built you to kill me before someone else does."
Kael didn't flinch. "Yes."
She let out a hollow laugh. "Great. Amazing. Wonderful. My day keeps getting better."
"Asha—"
"No wonder I wake up dead every few months," she snapped. Then softer: "He made you to hunt me."
Kael finally looked away. Just for a second, but it was enough.
"I was made to protect you," he said. "That was the original directive."
"That's not what it sounds like."
He turned back to her, eyes bright with a kind of desperate sincerity that made her chest tighten.
"I was made to keep you alive," he said. "Until the right moment."
"What right moment?"
Kael hesitated.
Asha stepped closer. "Kael."
He didn't answer.
Instead, he exhaled—slow, controlled, like he was holding back something enormous and dangerous inside himself.
She reached out and touched his arm.
He froze at the contact.
"Tell me," she said quietly.
Kael opened his mouth—
—when a beam of blinding white light blasted into the platform, cutting him off.
Asha shoved Kael behind a pillar just as the light scorched through the tunnel, vaporizing an entire row of rusted benches.
Kael's wings snapped wide to shield her from the heat.
"Drones," he hissed.
"No," Asha said. "That's not drone fire."
Kael's expression shifted immediately.
And Asha knew what he was thinking—because she was thinking it too.
Angels.
Miguel's soldiers.
The pillar behind them hissed and melted as another beam cut across the station.
Asha grabbed Kael's wrist. "We need to move."
They sprinted through the station, weaving between broken machines and dangling wires. The scent of ozone thickened as the air rippled again.
A beam hit the ceiling in front of them. Concrete rained down.
Kael shoved her to the floor and shielded her again.
Asha pushed him off. "Stop doing that!"
"You'll die!"
"I'll revive!"
"Not if—"
She cut him off with a glare sharp enough to slice stone. "Kael. Move."
For a moment, he almost defied her. He almost grabbed her and flew her out himself. He almost broke every order, instinct, and code that ruled him.
But he didn't.
He nodded.
And they ran.
---
They burst through a maintenance door into an old service corridor lit only by red emergency strips. The hum of angelic energy echoed behind them, getting closer.
Asha's pulse quickened. Not from fear—from the Seal.
The crack inside her chest pulsed again.
Harder.
She stumbled.
Kael caught her around the waist. "Asha!"
"I'm fine," she lied.
"You're not."
"Seal's… unstable."
Kael's jaw tightened. "Then we need to get you somewhere safe."
Asha barked a humorless laugh. "Kael, you realize nowhere is safe from Miguel, right? He has angels, drones, spies, and an irrational obsession with murdering me."
Kael didn't answer.
Which meant she was right.
They reached a ladder leading to the surface. Kael motioned her up.
Asha climbed, gritting her teeth through the pressure in her chest. Kael followed, silent, scanning the air for ambushes.
She pushed open the hatch and crawled onto the street.
Or what used to be a street.
The city around them—Sector Nine—was a graveyard of metal and neon. Towering skyscrapers with missing chunks. Holograms glitching on broken billboards. The sky was an endless dome of gray, swirling with ash from the fires miles away.
And floating above the ruins were three of Miguel's elite soldiers—Seraphim-class.
Their wings were blinding silver.
Their armor shimmered like liquid light.
Their eyes burned like molten stars.
And every single one of them was staring directly at her.
Asha swore under her breath. "Oh, perfect. He sent the pretty ones."
Kael climbed out of the hatch just as the Seraphim raised their spears.
The air vibrated with celestial power.
Kael stepped in front of her instinctively, wings flaring. "Stay close."
Asha drew her dagger—a black, jagged thing that pulsed faintly with infernal fire.
"Already planning on it."
The Seraphim spoke in unison, their voices echoing unnaturally:
"Ashael of the Fallen Lineage. By order of Archangel Miguel, surrender yourself."
Asha cupped a hand to her ear. "Sorry, could you repeat that? I was distracted by how shiny you all are."
Kael hissed her name like she'd just insulted a nuclear bomb.
Too late.
The Seraphim dove.
Kael met the first one mid-air, blades clashing with a shockwave that cracked the pavement. Asha rolled aside as the second spear came down on her. Her dagger met the glowing weapon, sparks flying.
She pushed back, muscles straining as celestial and infernal power collided.
The Seraphim towered over her, face emotionless. "Resistance is forbidden."
Asha grinned. "Then you're going to hate the next five minutes."
She ducked under the spear and slashed upward. The Seraphim dodged easily—almost too easily—but her attack bought her enough space to leap onto a broken vehicle and assess the battlefield.
Kael was fighting two at once, wings a blur of black and silver. His movements were precise, controlled, almost mechanical—but beneath the surface was something wild. Something powerful. Something she didn't fully understand.
The crack inside her chest pulsed again.
And again.
She gasped, gripping the car hood for balance.
Not now.
Not now.
She needed to stay conscious.
Needed to stay—
A Seraphim's spear shot through the car beside her, slamming into her ribs and hurling her across the street.
She hit the ground hard.
The world spun.
Kael shouted her name—raw, panicked.
Her vision blurred. The Seal inside her chest cracked wider. She felt it—felt the ancient lock fracturing.
If she passed out—
If she died—
The Seal would break completely.
And the world—
The world would burn.
The Seraphim loomed over her, spear pointed at her throat.
"Asha!" Kael screamed.
She couldn't move.
The Seraphim drew back its spear to strike.
Asha clenched her teeth, ready for the pain—
—and the ground beneath them ruptured.
A shockwave exploded outward.
Fire—hellfire—burst from her chest like a volcanic eruption.
The city shook.
The Seraphim staggered back, wings folding protectively.
Kael threw an arm over his face, eyes wide.
Asha rose slowly to her feet, flames dancing across her skin, hair whipping like black smoke.
Her eyes burned molten red.
The Seal inside her wasn't cracking anymore.
It was awakening.
And every celestial in a ten-mile radius felt it.
All three Seraphim froze.
Kael whispered her name—not afraid, but reverent. "Asha…"
She stepped forward.
The Seraphim stepped back.
And Asha smiled—dark, dangerous, furious.
"Tell Miguel," she said, "that if he wants me dead…"
Her flames roared higher.
"…he's going to have to try harder."