The demon's single eye widened with raw panic, and with a guttural roar, it slammed its claws into the crater floor that lifted shattered stones and earth into a storm of jagged shards.
Rocks whistled through the air as it hurled them toward Kael's body, desperate to bury him beneath the debris.
Before the dust could settle, the tendrils locked into their diamond shape, and a hurried blast of violet light tore across the pit—wild, and unfocused.
But the girl within Kael did not flinch. With a flick of Kael's hand, the storm broke apart, every stone deflected, and the violet light scattered like sparks against steel.
Ten tilted Kael's head, her violet gaze fixed on the trembling fragment.
"Pathetic," she whispered through his lips.
She stepped forward, each movement cracking the ground beneath Kael's feet, and the demon staggered back, its hand scraping furrows into the dirt.
For the first time, Fragment One understood—it was prey.
The realization ignited a primal terror in its chest, a fear so raw it twisted into rage.
It refused to bow, refused to be dragged into submission by a child's frame.
Snarling, it drove its hand into the dirt, thrashing against the invisible pull of the girl's dominance.
Every shred of strength it had left surged into resistance, its body jerking forward in a frenzy of survival.
When it finally lurched close, Fragment One swung wildly—kicks, punches, a storm of frantic blows meant to drive the girl back. The first strike cut through the air, but Kael's body moved faster.
The girl bent her knees, then sprang upward, twisting mid-air and landing a dropkick which landed square in the demon's chest.
The impact cracked like thunder, tilting the monster backward before slamming it hard into the ground. Dust erupted in a violent cloud as the crater floor shook beneath the force.
Kael's body slammed down, feet pinning the fragment's chest to the crater floor. Before it could thrash, she raised one leg and brought it down across its skull.
The girl tilted Kael's head, curling his lips in disgust, then hopped lightly off the demon's chest, swaying her foot to fling away the dark blood that clung to Kael's skin.
The gesture was casual, dismissive—like brushing dirt from a shoe.
Then she crouched low, both hands pressing firmly against the fragment's chest. The mark along Kael's body flared, its black lines glowing with a faint suffocating violet light.
The air thickened, heavy enough to choke, as the demon's body trembled beneath her grip.
Its voice rattled through the pit, broken and fading. "…I…know…you now. You're…the…Origin…"
The words were its last. The girl's presence surged, and the fragment's essence was pulled inward, devoured by the mark.
The demon's body shuddered once, then went still, its power swallowed whole into Kael's body.
The body shuddered once, then began to crumble, disintegrating into ash that scattered across the crater floor. By the time the girl rose, nothing remained but silence.
Behind her, the empty husk dissolved into dust as she advanced toward Lyanna. The woman still clung to life, her body trembling, pouring the last of her strength into keeping herself alive.
Kael now towered over Lyanna's pale body. Her chest rose and fell faintly, each breath weaker than the last.
His face remained unreadable—an expression that belonged entirely to the girl within him.
"How weak humans become when they grow attached to something," she mused, her light voice slipping through Kael's lips.
The girl kept her gaze on Lyanna—not out of pity, but something closer to cold curiosity. She lowered Kael's body down onto one knee.
"I have waited so long for the moment I'd be able to break the seal—to break free," she said softly, almost conversationally. "Just to kill you myself. But it seems a fragment of mine beat me to it."
She paused, tilting Kael's head slightly and poking at Lyanna's cheek.
"Regardless, the sealing technique ends with you, Lyanna…Ascendra."
Lyanna's breath hitched. Pain cut through her with every shallow inhale, but she forced her lips to move. Her voice came out broken, barely audible.
"…Thank…you…"
The girl went still for a second. "…Hahaha." A light, innocent sound that didn't match the carnage surrounding them.
"Of all your kind," she said between laughs, "you are my favorite. Truly." Her tone softened, though the amusement never left. "It's unfortunate we couldn't have our moments."
She leaned Kael's face closer, the purple glow in his eye illuminating Lyanna's slender features.
"But don't misunderstand," she continued, her voice turning colder. "I didn't do this for you. Or for your weak little boy."
The girl straightened slightly, Kael's hand resting on his knee.
"I simply didn't want to die just yet."
Lyanna's lips trembled, but a faint, weak smile formed anyway.
He'll live… that's enough.
The girl let out a low groan, and Kael's body swayed slightly. Her presence flickered like a dying flame.
"Tsk… Guess it's time to go," the girl muttered, with irritation creeping into her tone. "Wanted to stay out longer, but that will have to wait. This body is still far too weak."
The girl inside him forced his head up, locking his eyes with Lyanna's. "Enjoy your parting moment with your kid," she said with a soft, mocking laugh. "Hahaha!"
Then, the heat vanished. The oppressive, suffocating weight snapped, leaving a vacuum of cold air. The black lines on Kael's skin retreated like dying shadows, pulling back into the single mark on his spine.
Kael's body went limp, his forehead thudding into the dirt before his consciousness clawed its way back.
His eyes flickered open, but the world was a blur of orange and grey. Every muscle felt like it had been pulled tight and knotted. A sharp, metallic tang sat on his tongue.
"Mom…?"
His voice didn't sound like the one that had just called the demon pathetic. It was thin, raw, and trembling.
He pushed himself up, his small arms shaking under his own weight. Then he saw her. The sight hollowed him out. Lyanna was a ghost of herself, crumpled against the crater's wall.
"Mom!"
He didn't walk; he scrambled, skinning his knees on the jagged floor until he reached her side. The tears came before he even touched her—hot, messy, and unstoppable.
Slowly, she lifted her right arm, opening it toward him.
He collapsed into her embrace, face pressed into her shoulder. Her hold was weak but steady—and it was hers. She stroked his back gently, calming the sobs that wracked his chest.
The wasteland lay silent, broken only by the whisper of wind. Above, the sun hung low on the horizon, casting long, distorted shadows across the crater floor.
Deep amber light pooled in the cracks and hollows, while the sky deepened from burnt orange to bruised purple along the edges.
Fading sunlight caught the dust still drifting in the air, setting it aglow like embers floating in the dusk as Lyanna's voice came softly, breaking the quiet at last.
"Kael…" Her voice was a broken rasp.
He pulled back, his face a mess of salt and dirt. He reached for her hand, his fingers trembling so hard he could barely grip her.
"There's something…" She coughed, a wet, terrible sound. "Inside you… a monster. We locked it away when you were born. Her name… is Ten."
Lyanna's cold fingers brushed his cheek. "She's a Calamity, Kael. And you… you have to be the cage. You have to be strong enough to hold her."
Kael just stared, his chest heaving. "A monster? Mom, I don't… I don't want it. Make it go away! Please, just get up."
"Our family…" Lyanna's eyes were losing focus, drifting to the pendant. "We keep the seals. It's why your father… why he's gone. The thing that attacked us? It was a piece of her. A piece of what's inside you."
Kael's breath hitched, a high, thin sound of pure terror. He looked down at his own hands as if they didn't belong to him anymore. He felt dirty. Hunted.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice fading to a thread. "I'm so sorry for the burden, my brave boy."
"Mom, please!" He choked on a sob, burying his face in her neck. "Don't leave me here! I don't know what to do!"
Lyanna's hand grew heavy on his shoulder, her strength finally snapping.
"Kael... the mark..." She gasped, her hand clutching his arm with a sudden, bruising strength. "Don't let her... out. Find Veylin. Only Veylin can—"
Her hand slipped, thudding softly into the ash. Her breath hitched, then simply... stopped.
Kael stayed there, pinned under the weight of her cooling arm. The silence of the crater was deafening. He didn't look at the horizon or the sky.
He just clutched the pendant until it bit into his palm, his small shadow stretching out across the dust—the only thing left of the Ascendra line.