Velcrin staggered, his body pulsing with loose threads, limbs dragging behind him like torn banners. The domain around them—the cruel, jagged world of Velcrin's making—flickered and groaned, threatening collapse.
Koshiro stood trembling, glass rod dim in his hand. Every muscle in his body screamed. Every drop of Thread energy was spent. But Velcrin was still breathing.
"You're… still here?" Koshiro said, voice rough.
Velcrin's broken eyes turned toward him. His voice was no longer booming, but cracked and wheezing. "You think… this is enough to kill me?"
Koshiro gritted his teeth. "No. But maybe this is."
He summoned the last trace of Threadlight he could muster. It wasn't much—a spark, no more—but he poured it into the rod, then threw himself forward with a desperate roar.
The rod struck Velcrin's chest one last time.
The domain cracked.
Reality screamed.
And the world shattered around them.
Koshiro fell through the collapse, air rushing past him until the stone of the Fold's harmonic sanctum caught him like a cruel hand. He rolled and hit the floor hard, groaning.
Above him stood Zen and Solas, both facing Thorne's corpse—the hole still smoking in its chest.
Koshiro pushed himself up.
Zen turned, eyes widening. "Koshiro, are you okay? what happened to that other bastard?"
Koshiro dragged himself to his feet, leaning on the rod like a crutch. "I hit him with everything I had. He's not dead, but he's broken."
Before anyone could respond, the air behind Thorne shimmered.
Velcrin appeared behind thorne's body, half his body disintegrated, arm missing, blood and blackened threads trailing behind him like ribbons.
"You killed him too!" velcrin said stuttering and in pain.
And then, a flash, a sound like a mirror breaking in reverse.
A hole bloomed through Velcrin's skull.
He dropped silently.
Behind him stood the Prophet.
The room fell deathly still.
His voice was silk wrapped in venom.
"Useless creatures," the Prophet said, stepping forward with fluid grace. "I had hoped they were powerful enough, enough to test you, enough to sharpen the knives."
He paused.
"But they weren't ready. Not for you."
His gaze swept over them—Zen, still gripping his sword, Koshiro bleeding and swaying, Solas frozen mid-breath.
"Not for you… Koshiro."
Then, a cold smile.
Suddenly, Solas flinched.
"…That presence," he whispered. "I've felt it before. Kain."
The Prophet, looked at Solas in shock, he became slow and hesitant.
The Prophet's voice faltered. "How… do you know about Kain?"
"I can feel him," Solas replied, his tone uncharacteristically grim. "I've heard his voice, his hunger. He's touched the Threads around me more than once."
The Prophet's body shivered.
"You're… one of us, then," they said. "Chosen by him… or cursed."
Koshiro's voice cut through. "What are you talking about?"
The Prophet turned to him, and their gaze softened. "He's not Thread. He's not mortal. He is… devourer. Kain feeds on worlds. He sings the end of civilizations. He speaks to us—the gifted, the cursed. And he told me to birth Thread. To fracture the world with it. To weaken the walls."
Zen clenched his fists. "So you obeyed him?"
"I had to, you don't know Kain he is the most scariest being there is" Prophet said.
Solas agreed.
"I saw the future," the Prophet said, voice shaking now. "I saw myself defeated by you. So I did not fight. I cannot. I am not your enemy anymore."
Their body shimmered.
The golden armor cracked.
And fell away.
Beneath it was a girl—not much older than Nyra, pale and glowing faintly. Her eyes were strange, filled with endless sadness. A scar shaped like a chain wrapped around her neck, pulsing faintly with Threadlight.
"My name is Eri, I was cursed. Trapped in this form by Kain. He called me his voice… but I was only his vessel."
Zen lifted his sword and asked "How are you free from the curse now?"
Eri said "I don't know, It just broke and I feel like I have gained all control over my body. Maybe it's because of you, Koshiro, because of the Godly presence within you"
Koshiro looked at her, the fire in him dimmed but still alive. "Why do we believe you?"
"Because it's true", the prophet plead "ask your friend there"
Solas says "Yes everything the prophet or Eri or whatever said is true, I have felt his presence and yours too Koshiro, only difference was Kain was evil and your presence felt kind and warm. That is why I found you and followed you since then and since then I did not feel Kain's presence at all."
"So that is why you were travelling with us, because you were scared?" Zen said mockingly.
"You haven't felt him," Solas said, his voice barely holding steady. "Not like I have."
Koshiro steps towards Solas "We are with you now we will fight this Kain guy toge-."
Eri interrupted Koshiro and said "Yes, only you can defeat Kain."
"Why me?" asked Koshiro.
"Because you have the power of old god hidden within you, Koshiro" she whispered. "And you're the only one who can stop Kain."
Koshiro shocked.
"The power within you, Koshiro," she said, "is older than the Fold, older than Thread. It's the last remnant of a god that once walked this world."
Zen narrowed his eyes "Gods? I thought the Fold killed them."
Eri shook her head. "No. They were already dead when the Fold began. Kain ended them in the world before this one. All of them, devoured… except one."
She turned to Koshiro, awe and something gentler in her expression. "The one that survived—he didn't fight back. He split himself into fragments, planted them into newborn threads, hoping one day someone would inherit the will to resist. That someone is you."
Koshiro remained silent. His jaw was tight. His hands clenched the broken glass rod at his side.
"And me?" Solas asked, cautious.
"You were touched, not chosen," Eri said gently. "Kain used your connection, reached through it, marked you. You hear him not because he favors you, but because you're already infected by his echo."
Zen stepped forward, blade still in hand. "Why are you helping us now? If you're a cursed vessel, how do we know you won't turn the moment Kain whistles again?"
Eri smiled faintly—tired, apologetic. "Because the moment Kain senses I've betrayed him, this body will burn. But I'd rather die free than live chained to him."
There was a pause. Then she looked to Zen.
"You remind me of someone I once knew. Someone who made me laugh when I couldn't remember what laughter felt like." She blushed faintly, eyes flicking away. "He was reckless too."
Zen blinked. "…What?"
Solas leaned over to Koshiro, whispering, "Did she just confess?"
Koshiro smirked through his exhaustion. "Seems like it."
Eri, flustered, raised her hands. "I-I'm just saying. He had your eyes."
Zen turned to Solas. "I hate everything about this moment."
Solas shrugged. "I'm living for it."