The air around Kiel shimmered like molten glass, warping under the heat and shadow bleeding from his body. Every heartbeat was a thunderclap in his ears. The hybrid core inside him no longer pulsed in rhythm—it throbbed, an erratic drumbeat threatening to tear him apart from within.
The Threadbeasts could feel it too. The swarm's frenzied movements faltered, some even stepping back as if sensing the predator that now stood among them.
Then the ground split.
Shadows erupted like geysers from the fissures, each tendril writhing with crimson veins. They struck down anything that moved—beast or stone—piercing, ripping, dragging prey into the darkness below.
---
"Kiel!" Nyra's voice cut through the chaos again, but this time it was edged with fear.
He turned to answer—and nearly stumbled. The ground beneath him twisted like a living thing, spirals of shadow coiling outward in patterns that pulsed in sync with his heartbeat.
"By the gods…" Aeloria hovered above, golden wings flaring. "You're… reshaping the field."
Kiel didn't have time to question it. The swarm surged again, desperate to crush him before his unnatural storm could grow.
---
Three massive Threadbeasts charged from the left flank, their bodies wreathed in molten silk. Kiel moved faster than sight, the world reduced to streaks of motion. His claws tore through the first before it could blink. He ducked under the second's tail swipe and ripped its spine free in a spray of glowing thread. The third tried to retreat, but Kiel's shadows lashed out, wrapping around its neck and yanking it back into his waiting fangs.
The taste of corrupted essence hit his tongue like fire. His vision flared red.
More.
---
The battlefield itself was now a nightmare. Shadow-spikes burst from the earth, skewering enemies mid-leap. Crimson fog rolled from Kiel's body, swallowing smaller beasts whole. Even the storm above seemed to coil tighter around the valley, lightning flashing blood-red as if answering him.
"Nyra, Seris—pull the rear!" Aeloria shouted. "He's… changing the tide!"
But Seris didn't move right away. Her eyes were fixed on Kiel, calculating. "That's not just power. That's instability. If it snaps—"
"It'll take half the valley with it," Nyra finished grimly, already dragging her back.
---
The Alpha's lesser kin—a beast nearly half its size but still towering over Kiel—let out an ear-splitting shriek and charged. Its body was a tangle of glowing silk armor, each step shaking the ground.
Kiel didn't dodge.
He met the charge head-on.
When they collided, the shockwave tore apart the battlefield. Dirt, stone, and corpses were blasted outward in a cyclone. The giant beast roared, swinging its claw down—only for Kiel to catch it with one hand. Abyssflame spiraled down his arm, fusing with the crimson shadow bleeding from his core.
The fusion ignited in a flash of black-and-scarlet light. The beast's arm disintegrated into dust.
---
The core pulsed again—harder.
Kiel dropped to one knee, his breath ragged, vision doubling. The power inside him clawed at his mind, whispering promises of absolute annihilation.
Break them all.
He slammed his claws into the ground.
The shadows answered like an army. A hundred spears of darkness erupted outward in every direction, impaling anything that still drew breath. The air was thick with the stench of burning silk and scorched flesh.
---
"Kiel!" Nyra was running toward him now, ignoring the danger.
He looked up at her, eyes glowing an unnatural, fractured crimson-gold. For a heartbeat, she wasn't sure if he recognized her at all.
Then a tremor passed through him, and the shadows slowly began to recede, curling back into his body like smoke.
The battlefield fell silent except for the crackle of dying flames. The surviving Threadbeasts had retreated into the storm, leaving only ash and ruin behind.
But Kiel didn't rise. He stayed kneeling, one clawed hand gripping the dirt so hard it cracked beneath his fingers.
"Nyra…" His voice was hoarse. "I can't… tell where I end and it begins."
Above them, lightning flashed again—not from the storm, but from him.
The war wasn't over. The real fight was just starting.