The golden fissure split wider, tearing through the abyss like a wound too deep to heal. The darkness recoiled not in victory but in fear, as if this light was not salvation but corruption incarnate. Fire spilled from the crack, radiant yet unstable, flickering with a hunger not unlike the Maw's, though sharper, hotter, and far more personal.
Rick staggered back, his eyes burning as the brilliance lashed at him. It wasn't just light—it was memory, pain, and betrayal woven into a blaze that seared his very soul. His heart clenched as the voice rang again, louder, warped with fury.
"Rick…"
It was unmistakable. The tone, the weight, the sharp edge beneath the warmth—it was Sun. His companion. His brother-in-arms. The one who had fallen.
And now, somehow, returned.
But not as he had been.
Rick's throat tightened. "Sun…? No—it can't be you."
The fissure widened further, edges glowing like molten gold, sparks raining down into the abyss. Each spark touched the shadows, and where the shadows had been endless and suffocating, now they screamed, ignited, and dissolved. Fire ate darkness, but the fire did not heal—it devoured everything, even silence itself.
Babasaheb's silver aura flared brighter, holding the inferno at bay, his face stern. His hand tightened on Rick's shoulder, anchoring him from being pulled into the consuming blaze.
"Be steady," Babasaheb murmured. "This is no longer the Sun you knew. And remember—there are those we still fight to save, even if they've been touched by darkness. Devil… he waits, Rick. And we cannot lose him, not like this."
Rick's voice shook. "But it's him—I hear him! That's his voice!"
The golden hand pushed through the fissure, massive and burning, fingers curled like claws. Flames rippled across the abyss, reshaping it into something unstable, chaotic. Shadows writhed and screamed, not from hunger now, but from being set ablaze by a rival devourer.
The faceless figure—splintered and broken from its clash with Babasaheb—shrieked at the new presence. Its voices tangled into a chorus of fear. "The Sun is unbound—the flame corrupted! You unleash that which even the Maw does not command!"
The golden fire surged higher, a torrent bursting forth. And then, through the fissure, a form began to emerge.
A figure clothed in flames, his body outlined in radiant cracks of burning gold. His eyes, once warm and steady, now blazed like suns gone supernova—too bright, too consuming. His hair burned with golden fire, each strand writhing like a living flame.
Sun had returned.
But he was not the same.
Rick stumbled forward, torn between terror and desperate hope. "Sun! It's me—it's Rick! You don't have to—"
Sun's gaze snapped to him, and for a moment, recognition flickered. The fire dimmed in his eyes, just barely, as if some part of the man Rick knew still lived within. His lips parted, and he spoke.
"You… left me."
Rick froze, the words cutting sharper than any blade. "No—I—"
The flames around Sun roared louder, his voice twisting with pain. "You moved forward while I burned! You let me fall into silence, while you clung to hope! Did you think the fire would forgive you?"
Rick shook his head, chest aching. "I never abandoned you! I thought—I thought you were gone forever!"
"Gone?" Sun's laugh cracked like shattering glass. "I am not gone. I am reborn. Not by choice, but by fire unending. And that fire does not forgive."
The abyss groaned under the weight of his presence, light and shadow colliding violently. The Maw's retreating roar echoed faintly, as though even hunger itself hesitated before the flame that sought to consume all.
Babasaheb stepped forward, his silver aura shimmering against the inferno. "Sun," he said firmly, voice calm but edged with warning. "The fire you carry is not yours—it bends you, twists you. You are not bound to it unless you yield. And remember—the lives you touch, the souls we fight for… including Devil, they all rely on you holding on."
Sun's gaze snapped to him, burning with fury. "And who are you to speak of yielding? You, who clothe yourself in silence and call it defiance? You hide behind stillness because you fear the roar. But fire does not hide. Fire devours."
The air quaked as Sun raised his golden hand. Flames poured from his palm, a tidal wave of fire crashing forward. Rick cried out, but Babasaheb did not flinch. He lifted his hand, silver light spreading outward in a dome of calm.
When fire met silence, the abyss itself screamed.
The flames slammed against the silver barrier, searing, cracking it with golden fissures. Light and silence strained against each other, neither yielding completely. Sparks of golden and silver rained down like burning snow, dissolving shadows with every touch.
Rick shielded his face, the storm of radiance blinding him. "Stop! Both of you! Please!"
But neither fire nor silence yielded.
Sun's roar tore through the void. "You cannot stop me, Rick! You cannot chain me again! I am fire unending—and I will not be refused!"
Babasaheb's calm voice carried through the storm. "Even fire must consume itself when left unchecked. You burn not the abyss, Sun. You burn yourself. And the chains that gripped Devil can grip you too, if we fail."
Sun's flames surged, brighter, hotter, fueled by his rage. The fissure behind him widened further, revealing not just fire but an entire realm of golden flame, a place that pulsed like a burning heart. It was not heaven. It was not salvation. It was a furnace—endless, merciless.
Rick stumbled forward, his heart tearing. He couldn't watch this—he couldn't let Sun be lost again. Not to the abyss. Not to the Maw. Not to this… burning madness.
"Sun!" he shouted, his voice breaking. "I don't care what's changed—I won't leave you again! If you're burning, then let me burn with you! But I won't stand by and watch you be consumed! And we will save him too—we'll save Devil!"
For a flicker of a moment, the fire around Sun wavered. His blazing eyes softened, recognition fighting the corruption. His lips trembled.
"Rick…?"
Babasaheb's gaze narrowed. He saw the hesitation, the fracture in the fire's grip. He leaned close to Rick and whispered, "Now. Anchor him. Call him back before the fire devours him completely. And remember, our fight is not over—even Devil needs you."
Rick nodded, his chest aching with desperation. He stepped forward into the blaze, ignoring the searing heat. Flames licked at his skin, burning, scarring, but he pressed on. His voice cracked but carried his soul.
"You're my brother, Sun. You're more than this fire. More than this fury. I won't believe you're gone—I won't! And we'll bring him back too!"
Sun's body trembled, cracks of golden flame splitting wider. His hands clutched at his head, torn between wrath and memory. The abyss shuddered with the struggle, golden fire clashing with silver calm.
For one heartbeat, it seemed Sun might break free.
But then—the Maw's voice returned, a low rumble echoing through the void.
"Yes… burn. Fire feeds hunger. Flame is but another chain."
The abyss roared as shadow and flame converged. Sun screamed, his body writhing as the Maw's hunger twined with the golden blaze. His form swelled, the fire no longer purely his but mingling with the abyss itself. A hybrid horror of hunger and flame.
Rick's blood ran cold. "No—no, no, no!"
Babasaheb's silver aura flared, desperate now. "He is being bound to the Maw's hunger! If you do not reach him, he will be lost forever! And if Sun falls… so might Devil!"
Rick's body shook, burned, but he pushed closer, forcing himself through the fire. His voice broke into a cry.
"Sun! Remember who you are! You're not the Maw's vessel—you're not a chain! You're the one who taught me to fight! You're the one who carried me when I fell! You're the reason I still believe! Don't let them take that from you! And we will save him—Devil too!"
For a moment—just a moment—Sun's blazing eyes flickered with tears of gold. His fire dimmed, wavering like a candle caught in the wind.
Rick reached for him, hand outstretched.
But before he could touch him, the fissure behind Sun tore fully open, and the golden furnace roared outward, swallowing him in flames.
Sun's voice, twisted yet pained, echoed through the storm.
"Then burn with me, Rick…"
The golden fire exploded, consuming the abyss in light. Shadows shrieked and dissolved, silence cracked, and the Maw's roar rose to a deafening crescendo.
Rick was thrown back, his body seared, his mind drowning in fire. He glimpsed Babasaheb holding the silver calm against the inferno, his form wavering but unbroken.
Through the blaze, Rick saw Sun one last time—his figure blazing brighter than a star, tears of fire streaming down his burning face. And in that blaze, the faintest shadow of Devil's chains flickered, a reminder of why their fight was far from over.
And then, everything went white.
---
To be continued…