Theme: Unleashing what was hidden — and facing what you are.
The temple floor split wide.
Not just stone — but reality itself. Haken dropped into a chasm of flickering black and gold, wind rushing past him like breath from an ancient mouth. He didn't fall far… before he landed, kneeling, in the otherworld.
This was no dream.
The void hissed with half-whispers and long-buried secrets. The air pulsed with echoes — not only of Vivi's power, but of the curse in his own blood.
Then came the voice again. Not Viper's. Not Cenric's.
Older.
"Heir of the broken fang…"
Haken turned slowly. Before him stood a beast made of smoke and bone — a great wolf whose eyes were like dying suns.
The First.
The curse that lived in him had a name. A face. A will.
"You are not worthy of her," it said. "You were made to destroy. Not protect."
"I know what I was made for," Haken said. His claws flexed. "But I choose her. Every time."
The beast growled, and the void around them twisted. Visions erupted — of Vivi burning, of the Gate shattered, of the world crumbling beneath her fire and his fangs.
"Then prove it," the First howled. "Prove you are not the monster I was."
At the same time...
Vivi gasped awake on a surface made of light and memory. The void no longer held her — at least not entirely.
But she could feel it crumbling. Her power was waking up fully. The fire within her had a voice now. A pull.
And somewhere in that pull… she felt Haken. Fighting. Bleeding. Believing in her.
She closed her eyes, whispering, "Hold on…"
From her hands, light poured — not fire this time, but something purer. She focused it, shaping a way back.
Back to him.
Back to them.
Within the Void – Battle Between Wolves
Haken faced the First, firelight licking at his skin. Every blow echoed with the sound of his past — rage, pain, loneliness.
"You think I'm afraid of what I am?" Haken snarled.
The First lunged. Fangs clashed.
"No," Haken growled, pushing back with everything he had. "I'm afraid of losing her."
And in that moment, Vivi's light found him. A thread of golden flame wrapped around his wrist — pulling, guiding.
The First screamed.
And Haken roared.