Lyra hit the ground hard.
Air slammed out of her lungs.
Her vision blurred.
Her ears rang.
She clawed at the earth, trying to force breath back into her chest.
Everything was dark.
Too dark.
A forest couldn't be this dark.
Not naturally.
This was—
Shadow magic.
She lifted her head, body trembling.
"Zerrei…?"
Her voice echoed through a place that didn't feel like the forest anymore.
A place that felt alive.
A low whisper brushed the back of her neck.
"…Lyra…"
She spun around instantly—
But nothing was there.
She pressed a hand to her chest.
Her heart hammered painfully.
"Zerrei… where are you…"
A second whisper drifted through the dark.
Closer.
"…Zerrei… coming…"
She froze.
That wasn't Zerrei.
That wasn't his warmth.
Wasn't his glow.
Wasn't his trembling, soft voice that clung to her name like a lifeline.
That voice was cold.
Wrong.
Vessel Four.
She forced herself to stand.
"Stay away from me."
The whisper slid across the surface of her mind.
"…Lyra… mine…"
Her breath shook—but she didn't back down.
"No. Zerrei is mine."
The forest shuddered.
ZERREI AWAKENS
Meanwhile—
Zerrei's glow shook the earth.
Arden shielded his eyes.
"Holy—KID—YOU'RE GOING NUCLEAR—!!"
Oren yelled over the rising hum:
"HE'S EVOLVING! DO NOT INTERRUPT—!!"
Cracks of golden light split the ground.
Leaves rose into the air.
The trees trembled as if bowing.
Zerrei's body hovered several inches above the ground.
His glow wasn't flickering anymore.
It was stable.
Steady.
Bright—
And furious.
"…Lyra…"
His entire form shook with rage and fear.
"…Lyra… taken… Lyra… scared…"
Arden yelled:
"Then go GET her—!"
Zerrei's eyes snapped open.
And something new shone inside them.
A third ring—
Like a halo—
Burning gold in his pupils.
Oren whispered:
"…Resonance thread awakening…"
Arden blinked.
"The WHAT—?!"
Oren shouted:
"A connection! A metaphysical bond!
Zerrei can sense Lyra.
Track her mana.
Follow her emotions—!"
Zerrei stood.
No—
He didn't stand.
He manifested.
The glow around him collapsed inward, gathering behind his back.
Then—
FWOOOM—
Golden lines streamed outward like threads—
thin, shining strands stretching into the forest.
Zerrei gasped—
Broken, breathless—
"…Lyra… Lyra… I feel Lyra…!"
He reached toward one glowing thread—
And it reacted, pulling taut.
Pulling east.
Arden blinked.
"Is that—like—a leash?"
Oren shook his head.
"No. That's love."
Zerrei's voice cracked:
"…Lyra… crying…
Lyra… scared…"
His glow turned fierce.
"…Zerrei… coming… Lyra…"
And then—
He ran.
Fast.
Too fast.
Not human fast.
Not vessel fast.
Emotion fast.
Arden sprinted after him.
"HEY—WAIT—!!"
Oren ran too, gasping for breath.
"He's following her emotional signature—!!"
Zerrei disappeared into the trees.
LYRA IN THE DARK
Lyra stumbled backward until she hit a tree trunk.
Her breathing turned shallow.
"Stay calm… Zerrei is coming…"
The forest didn't like that.
The shadows rippled.
A shape slid out—
Long arms.
Blank face.
Single red eye.
Vessel Four.
It tilted its head.
Just like Zerrei.
But slow.
Mocking.
"…Zerrei… mine…"
Lyra forced a glare.
"No. He's not yours."
The creature stepped closer.
Branches curled away from it, dying on contact.
Its single eye watched her like a predator studying prey.
"…Lyra… alone…"
"No I'm not."
The creature paused.
It leaned closer—
face inches from hers.
And whispered:
"…Zerrei… forget you…"
Her chest tightened.
She stepped back—
But the shadows behind her shifted, trapping her.
The creature reached toward her face.
"DON'T TOUCH ME—!!"
Her mana sparked wildly—
But the darkness smothered it instantly.
Vessel Four's eye widened—
Then narrowed.
"…Lyra… cry…"
Her hands shook.
She whispered:
"No. Zerrei will find me—"
The creature spoke over her in Zerrei's voice:
"…Lyra… Lyra… Lyra… I'm here…"
Lyra's heart broke.
It was perfect.
The tone.
The tremble.
The cadence.
It sounded so real she almost—
Almost—
No.
Her tears fell—
But her voice stayed steady.
"You're not him."
The monster stilled.
She whispered:
"Zerrei calls me 'mine' softly.
Never to hurt me.
Never to own me."
The creature twitched.
"And when he's scared…"
Lyra placed a hand over her heart.
"He whispers my name like it's fading."
Her voice broke—
But she kept going.
"You don't even know what fear sounds like."
Silence.
Then—
SHHHRRRAA—!!
The creature lunged with impossible speed—
—
And stopped.
A glowing thread wrapped around its wrist—
burning into its skin.
The creature screeched—
soundless, but violent.
Lyra gasped—
Light filled the forest.
A golden blur crashed into her—
Arms wrapping around her.
Head buried in her shoulder.
Body trembling violently.
"LYRA—!!
LYRA—!!
LYRA—!!"
Zerrei.
Lyra clutched him back instantly, tears breaking free.
"Zerrei—! You found me—!"
He sobbed into her neck.
"…Lyra… Lyra… Lyra… don't leave—don't leave—don't leave—!!"
"I'm not leaving—never—never—!"
He hugged her tightly, crushingly, like he wanted to fuse their bodies together so nothing could separate them again.
Behind them, Vessel Four ripped at the glowing thread binding it—
Screeching silently.
Arden burst into the clearing.
"LYRA—ZERREI—!!"
Oren staggered after him.
"DON'T BREAK THE THREAD—!!"
Zerrei held Lyra even tighter.
"…mine… my Lyra… safe… safe… safe…"
She stroked the back of his head.
"I'm here. I'm here."
The ground shook.
The thread tightened.
Zerrei stood slowly—
Lyra still in his arms—
like he refused to let her feet touch the ground.
His eyes glowed with a golden halo.
He glared at Vessel Four.
And whispered:
"…don't touch… Lyra…"
The forest trembled.
The thread pulsed.
Vessel Four braced itself.
Zerrei whispered again—
Voice low.
Deep.
Terrifying.
"…Zerrei… will BREAK you."