The vow-thread burned in two directions.
One strand pulled toward the child, pulsing with a soft warmth that whispered of a life Ren once believed in. A world of trust. A sky not yet stained. A heart not yet hollowed.
The other strand blazed toward the shard-winged girl, raw, unstable, fierce. The vow of survival, defiance, rebellion. The vow of a boy who refused to die quietly.
Ren stood in the center, flames coiling around his body like a storm ready to devour him from the inside out. His skin prickled with heat so intense it blurred his vision, every breath scraping like glass.
The child stretched out its hand, eyes wide with unshaken innocence. "Don't fight anymore. Just let me in. I'll carry it all for us."
The girl's wings flared, shards scattering like starlight. Her voice was sharp, cutting through the chains' whispers. "If you give yourself to that lock, you'll drown in their lies. Choose me. Choose to burn forward, no matter how much it costs."
