Theme: Reunion, transformation, and the first real strike back.
For a moment, there was only silence.
Then — fire.
Golden and wild, it cut through the void like a blade through mist. Haken, bloodied and burning from the battle with the First, felt the warmth pierce through the cold.
He reached for it without hesitation.
The flames wrapped around him — not to burn, but to pull.
Through memory. Through shadow. Through pain.
Elsewhere…
Vivi stood at the heart of the collapsing void, her hands glowing like twin suns. Her eyes, once soft, now blazed with fire and focus.
She whispered, "Come back to me."
And the void answered.
A shockwave surged.
Haken was hurled through the void like a meteor. Flames ignited around him, but they didn't consume — they transformed.
His body twisted midair, bones reshaping, breath hitching in his throat.
The wolf inside him howled — not in rage, but release.
When he landed, it wasn't as a beast.
Not fully.
It was something in between. A perfect balance of human and wolf. Not cursed.
Chosen.
Vivi ran to him.
He stood slowly, golden cracks glowing along his arms, breath rising like smoke.
They stared at each other for a beat, caught between exhaustion and awe.
"You called me," he rasped.
"You came," she whispered.
Without hesitation, she pressed her forehead to his. Their powers flared, and for a second, the void broke.
Far away, in the mortal realm…
Viper stood atop a tower of bone and mirrors, watching the sky fracture.
"She's waking," he said calmly.
Behind him, the Queen stepped out of the shadows — her face half-hidden by a silver veil.
"You said the fire would consume her," she snapped.
Viper didn't look at her. "It will. But now… she'll take the world with her."
The Queen clenched her fist. "Then make her choose our side."
Viper's smile was thin. "Oh, I already have a plan."