Vale's POV
The screaming of trapped souls filled my mind like knives.
"Make it stop!" Sara's voice echoed in our shared consciousness.
But the screaming didn't stop. Couldn't stop. These were Moon Children who had been suffering for centuries, their agony feeding the Devourer's power.
"This is its strength," the Vampire King realized. "It feeds on their endless torment."
"Then we free them," I said, pushing toward the screaming souls.
But the Devourer's will crashed down on us like a mountain.
"You're mine now," it said, its voice surrounding us. "Your consciousness, your power, your very existence belongs to me."
I felt myself being pulled apart. My thoughts scattering. My identity dissolving into the darkness.
"Vale!" Dante's presence grabbed onto mine. "Stay with me!"
His wolf instincts created a lifeline through the chaos. I clung to it desperately.
"Link together," the Dragon King commanded. "All of us. Now!"
