lf recoiled from the weight of unleashed power. Seraphina stood at the heart of the chaos, her breath ragged, her pulse thundering like war drums beneath h

pered, the name cat

l. His shirt was torn from chest to waist, revealing gashes that no ordinary healer could men

ed. The feel of his body against hers-a mix of searing heat a

not allowed to fall now. No

uggling to focus on her.

began to form-massive obsidian pillars erupting from the ground, carved in languages lost to mortal minds. Seraphina turned, sti

d in red fire and shadow. Its voice t

aughter of Flame. And so

eyes locked on the f

ken... or the realm shall burn. You may choose one:

d weakly. "Don

neck, hoisting him into the air. Seraphina screamed, unleashing a wave of power

alone. You must invoke t

izing into blades as ancient sigils formed around

rounded by the last of their loyal warriors. "Seraphina! The rebel

eave him!"

n her mind-telepathic,

tle. I'll hold

tlefield. The bloodline gates surged wider, and from within, spectral wol

of the First Flame

immed as night folded in on itself, the m

ach step she took burned sigils into the ground. Her voice carried

I am the Eclipse. I am the f

to the shift in magic. Seraphina moved with divine speed, slicing through tim

lood-Tied Gate. Behind her, Killian's body hovered motionless within

shattered

the Mat

ierced through by a rebel spear, coll

N

ration. The magic faltered. The

epped forward. "T

triarch and Killian's fading soul. The sky overhead crack

w. Or lose

th

nding

cre

ything w

n otherworldly crimson glow. The broken land trembled beneath the weight of fate, an

ound her, the guardians and loyal warriors of the Eclipse Pact battled against the grotesque creatures s

e locked on the half-shattered gate before h

Tongue shimmered between worlds-one line in celestial flame, the next in void-black

te's base. "You who are cursed an

ound the dagger she still clutched-Killian's dagger

e, a roar erupte

do it

is path was blocked-creatures lunged at him, and even weakened, he fought like the Al

rned back to

hat I must

n bl

ds. The gate drank it greedily, groaning as it absorbed the sacrifice. The ground

the rift. Killian was thrown back, landin

he roared, tr

a was alread

tient, as if the gate itself were tasting her resolve. Each step she took

inued to rage above, muffle

r eyelashes. Shadows writhed along the walls, whispering names-he

n l

ed into the mountain's roots. Atop the altar sat a sphere of pure blood

t the prophe

undo the curse-or se

rom the fusion with Killian's soul mark, surged through her. The elemental

wasn't

beyond the altar

black and red.

ing who had ca

e layered in time, like it b

hardened. "You call

d. His eyes glowe

Keeper of the Pact. The one

ed. "My blood be

nd. "You opened the Gate. You accepted the

His body burned with the force of his magic-half broken, but

voice echoed do

red, her voice trembling but fierce. "Then hear me: I bind myself

e laced with crimson lightning. The Heart of the

her collapsed into a r

-

ell to their knees. The Shadowborn screamed, clawing at th

screamed

urst of silver fla

sil

u

here the Gate once st

ati

nsci

fire, shaped like wings

ring beh

-Binder.

it

smil

oment before lightning strikes. The flames around her danced violently, responding to the emoti

s who had once moved like a monstrous tide now hesitated, eyes

ilith watched, her serpentine pupils narrowing as she muttered ancient incantations under her breath, summoning a wall of

s form lay cradled within a sphere of golden magic behind her, protected by an enchantment she had summoned

hand, and the g

n gold, expanding in a circle that rippled outward. Trees bent away from i

she whispered, her voice not entirely her o

rged a shimmering structure-part ethereal, part obsidian bone-a gate bound by anc

ulse. A roar, otherworldly and primal, shook the

crown of thorns floated above his head, rotating slowly, bleeding starlight.

," he said, his voice layered wi

breath caugh

Pact," he replied. "And

ield erupte

orward. The sky fractured with spells, claws, and curses.

ture, time

ew slipped through, but Seraphina met them head-on, her body moving with impossible s

tep ignited sigils of strength and protection. Her enemies tri

of it all, Ki

ulted his mind-Seraphina in flames, his mother calling his name, the voice of the ancient b

spered, his body tr

pted. The earth split, revealing a hidden pool of obsidian beneath his feet. The wa

nd his body ignite

s. His aura merged with Seraphina's like the sun colliding with a star. Their bo

her chest. "No... It's not possi

"You cursed me... bound me in blood and

heir gazes met, and a spark br

said, walking toward her

took

nd the ground beneath them explo

act raised his hands.

ionless beneath the remnants of the gate, but the blood bond tethered between them flickered-faint, but unbroken. A flicker

he incantation she had learned from the Flameborn Tome: "By blood

e by one, they lit around her, forming a perfect sigil. Behind her, the survivors of the pack - warriors bruis

ybe sh

lian had struck the Blood-Tied Gate with the relic blade. But the true war was far from over. That

gr

Kill

arred, and clad in armor not seen in any current realm - pushed up through the fractured seal of the gate

d slowly, her b

f. It bore the sigil of the First Alpha-the lost progenitor sa

a rasped, voice echoing with thunder an

a golden whip of fire that coiled in the air like a

ient Alpha

ured by centuries of torment and shadow. The Nightbound Legion - cursed warriors bound to the forg

had frac

it - but opene

and shadow, a crown of fire forming behind her head as her wings-yes, wings-erupted in a burst of gold-embere

she whispere

lm, but from within her bond with Killian. His heartb

y flame of union, I su

striking Killian's body. Time seemed to slow. His wounds glowed

ncient Al

nnot bring him back. Not

rrier of crystalline light that shattered the tip of the blade into

ttle e

nts of the Eclipse Pack. Swords met claws. M

tting through enemies with precise, elegant fury. With each s

en-his

ind

ed. But und

aphi

is hand lifted, enveloped in fire-black aura, and in a singl

orld

Killian snarled, "

unleashed the

of the First Witch. Their joined palms erupted into a nova of energy that spread across the b

that wasn

g darkness, yet he smiled. "You've

egan to crawl out. Not a being, but a force. An abyssal tide, blacker t

rld tr

her, hands still clasped, eyes wid

visible threads of fate. The ground beneath her feet trembled, not from instability, but from anticipation-as if the earth itself was awaiting her decree. A circle of ru

chain still coiled around his form shimmered faintly, its links no longer forged from simple m

aura expanded, woven now with not just elemental power but with celestial dominance. Her voice, when it came, ec

whispered

not from force, but recognition. The ground split along the runes, revealing a radiant chasm from whic

his eyes as the first steps of that stairway shimmer

is side, cupping his cheek as divine warmth

e the sky open-reminding them

starlight. A creature born from fractured oaths and corrupted prophecy. He bore the sigil

voice like splintered glass and velvet. "

e and frost. Her body ignited in spirals of light, her dress turning into a gown of wind-woven silk and ember-threaded lace. Wi

she said. "I a

inst the spear of dark energy he formed midair. Their clash shook the remna

orld

r rode t

ide commands the f

-

chasm b

phere of crystallized blood surrounded by four thrones. Each throne hovered, empty

began to whisper. Not words, but emotions-rage, sorrow, love, betrayal. Hi

e throne of

er than the forest's roots

pay... unless the Bride

t from above, her

ed laughed. "Choose, B

ade wa

an gr

ones de

-

s-and in the silence, he

cended-not falling, but ascending into destiny. Her gown caught flame, her aura twisted into silver and crimso

e whispered to the thron

chasm explo

s a circle. And in its center, where once stood only stone, rose a si

a steppe

mark on his chest-the Alpha's sig

no longe

were

skies

treating-but not before

bond, but the Eclipse comes...

w, the final piece of pro

made... but the Cri

rld. Her body trembled, not from fear but from the divine rage of something older than time itself coursing through her veins. The se

nt rhythm of his pulse-each beat a tether to her sanity. Her eyes, now a haloed white, focused on the e

e remnants of ancient altars bled silver light. Screams echoed from both sides-wolves and witches alike losing themselves to carna

iated outward, illuminating the ground in intricate runes of red and violet. Magic pulsed from her core li

our bonded blood," she intoned, her voice ringing with ancie

gs wide and glimmering like broken moonlight. Another walked in fire, skin forged in ember and eyes that dripped magma. Th

u are not the Bride of th

around her in ribbons of flame and lightning.

truck first, hurling a wave of blistering heat that turned the battlefield into molten glass. The w

resulting shockwave throwing entire war parties to the ground. Elara, Killian's mother, shielded the wou

"All blood remembers," she chanted, the sky resp

ins glowing with radiant threads. Her dress tore into ceremonial armor woven from her own energy.

curses that unraveled the minds of lesser beings. But Seraphina stood firm. She caught his arm mid-ai

whispered, eyes glin

uption like dry kindling. He howled, the sound a symphony of tormented souls,

long banished from the realm-appeared. He

n. "Do it now, Seraphina. The Seal of Binding

al force. Seraphina stood at the center, her hair dancing like a cr

cond sun exploded behind her-an illusion born from the

rayer f

o

towers and collapsed shrines, until she stood directly before Killian's cage. H

pressing her forehead to the cage. "

le tea

the sound of a bell to

nt, the cag

l forward i

flutter

aphi

t alone insi

o his bloodline now rising because the Gate had opened. The final

m tight, even as

ou do, love

still. But his eyes...

Kill

fu

he last army of the Betrayer had arrived. Beas

lowly, her expre

Blood-Tied Gat