"End me.
The next strike fell.
The abyss roared.
And in that moment—the choice was theirs."
---
The blade rang like thunder when it met Devil's claw. Sparks burst, scattering across the ruined dome like dying stars. Rick's arm nearly buckled under the weight of the blow, his bones screaming, his veins aflame. Shadows wrapped around Devil like armor, each movement laced with a terrible precision—as though the Watcher itself was pulling the strings.
Rick staggered back, panting, blood dripping from his lip. "I won't end you," he spat through clenched teeth. "Not while you're still in there!"
But Devil's eyes burned crimson-black, suffused with agony. Behind that infernal light, Rick caught a glimpse of something fleeting—the faintest flicker of his friend's soul, drowning, begging.
The Watcher's voice coiled through the void, wrapping around each of them like chains.
"Weakness."
The word slithered into their ears, pressed against their skulls, poisoned their resolve. "Your compassion is weakness. Your hesitation is mine."
Piu cried out, forcing her trembling arms to raise her broken staff. Magic sparked but faltered, the splintered wood refusing her desperate call. "No! Devil, you can fight this—you can! Please!" Her tears glimmered in the silver ruins, each one swallowed by the hungry dark before it touched the ground.
Sun roared, his golden flames surging brighter, defiant. They wrapped around his fists, searing against the abyss's cold. He hurled them toward Devil, but the shadows swallowed the fire whole, smothering it in an instant. A lash of darkness slammed into Sun's chest, hurling him into the cracked dome wall with a sickening thud. He collapsed, breathless, coughing blood.
"Sun!" Piu shrieked, rushing to his side—but another tendril coiled around her waist, wrenching her backward. She struck the ground, gasping for air, her staff skidding out of reach.
Rick lunged, cleaving the tendril with his blade. The shadow hissed, recoiling into the abyss. He spun toward Devil, fury burning in his gaze. "If you're still in there, then damn it, FIGHT!"
But Devil moved like a storm. His claws raked across Rick's chest, tearing through armor, through flesh. Pain seared white-hot, and Rick collapsed to one knee, his breath ragged.
Through the haze, he heard a whisper. Not the Watcher. Not the abyss. But Devil—truly Devil.
"…help… me…"
Rick's heart clenched. He raised his eyes, seeing his friend's face twisted in torment, shadows strangling every part of him. And in that moment, Rick swore—he would not choose death. Not yet.
"Babasaheb!" Rick roared. "There has to be a way! Something—anything—to sever him from the Watcher!"
The elder staggered forward, silver aura dim and cracked. His hands trembled, veins pulsing with exhaustion. Yet his voice was unyielding. "The Watcher has anchored itself within him. To sever the chain, you must strike both—the host and the parasite—at once."
Piu gasped, struggling to rise. "Both? But if we strike both…" Her voice faltered, horror dawning. "…Devil won't survive."
Babasaheb's eyes closed briefly, his silence answer enough.
The abyss pulsed, trembling like a heartbeat. The Watcher's laughter thundered, splitting the void.
"Yes. Strike him. End him. Prove your loyalty by slaughtering your own."
Rick's hands shook around his blade. Every part of him screamed to fight, to refuse, to tear Devil free with sheer will alone. But each second, Devil's strikes grew faster, sharper, hungrier. He was losing himself—and with him, the world tilted closer to ruin.
Another clash. Another shattering cry of steel against shadow.
Rick staggered, vision blurring. His grip slipped. He couldn't hold much longer.
And then—
"ENOUGH!"
Piu's scream ripped through the battlefield. Light flared around her, not golden like Sun's, nor silver like Babasaheb's. It was pure, raw, desperate—born not of mastery but of love. Her staff blazed even in its broken state, splintered wood glowing white-hot.
The shadows recoiled for an instant, hissing, faltering. Devil froze mid-strike, his claw trembling inches from Rick's throat. His body convulsed, caught between abyssal chains and Piu's blazing call.
"Devil!" she cried, voice cracking. "You are NOT his! You are ours—you are MINE! Come back!"
His crimson-black eyes flickered. For the briefest heartbeat, Rick saw them—his true eyes. Red as fire, fierce, human.
But the Watcher roared. Shadows exploded outward, snapping Piu's light, drowning it in darkness. Devil screamed, his body seizing as the abyss tore him deeper into its grasp.
"NO!" Piu's voice broke, tears streaming. She staggered forward despite the shadows clawing at her flesh. "Don't let go! Please—don't let go!"
The void pulsed violently. Devil's scream echoed, splitting into two voices—his own and the Watcher's. The sound ripped through the air, shattering what little was left of the barrier.
Rick rose, bloodied, broken, but unyielding. He gripped his blade with both hands, every muscle in his body screaming rebellion. He met Devil's eyes—those twisted, tortured eyes—and spoke, his voice low, firm, unbreakable.
"If I can't kill you… then I'll fight for you. Even against you. Even against the abyss itself. Because you're my brother. And I'll never let you fall alone."
The blade flared. His will ignited it, not flame, not aura, but something rawer—unyielding determination.
The Watcher hissed. "Fool. You defy hunger itself."
Rick raised his sword. "Then let hunger choke."
He charged.
Steel met shadow again, but this time the spark blazed brighter, clashing back the abyss in a shockwave of light. Devil staggered, his scream torn between agony and release.
Sun forced himself upright, golden fire reigniting around his battered frame. "He's right. If we can't kill him—we'll fight beside him until he remembers who he is!"
Babasaheb, trembling on his knees, lifted his hands once more. Silver runes flared beneath them, anchoring what little barrier he could. "Then we shall weave our strength as one! Strike now, before the Watcher roots deeper!"
Piu screamed, pouring everything into her broken staff. Light flared once more, fragile but burning with heart.
The abyss convulsed, recoiling as the four forces collided. Rick's blade. Sun's fire. Piu's desperate light. Babasaheb's silver runes. Together they struck, hammering against Devil's chains, against the Watcher's hold.
The void roared. Devil screamed. Shadows tore, split, fractured.
For a single moment—they saw it. The Watcher's true form. A maw without end, eyes like collapsing stars, a hunger that could not be sated. Its voice thundered through their skulls:
"You think you resist me? You think this host can be saved? You are nothing but ash waiting to be devoured."
The ground cracked. The abyss trembled. And Devil—Devil fell to his knees, clutching his head, screaming.
Rick rushed to him, dropping his blade to grasp his shoulders. "Stay with me! You hear me? Stay!"
Devil's trembling hand rose, gripping Rick's arm weakly. His crimson eyes flickered, human for a fleeting second. "R…ick…"
Hope flared. Piu gasped, Sun's flames surged, Babasaheb's aura brightened.
But then—
The Watcher shrieked. The shadows exploded outward, hurling them all back. Rick slammed against the void floor, coughing blood. Piu's light sputtered, vanishing. Sun collapsed, his flames gone. Babasaheb's runes shattered like glass.
And Devil—
Devil rose.
Chains of shadow wrapped fully around him now, his body encased, his face half-hidden beneath a veil of black flame. His eyes glowed like dying suns. And when he spoke, it was not his voice anymore.
"The hunger has chosen. He is mine."
The void trembled. The abyss pulsed.
Rick, broken and bloodied, forced himself to his feet. His blade trembled in his hand. "Then we'll take him back. Even if it kills us."
The Watcher's laughter thundered, endless, merciless.
"Then come. Break yourselves upon him. And watch your hope devour itself."
Devil's claws ignited in shadowfire. He stepped forward, each movement shaking the abyss itself.
The war had only just begun.
---
Final Suspense Hook
Devil raised a spear of shadowflame, its tip aimed for Rick's heart. The abyss screamed with hunger.
Rick tightened his grip on his blade, Piu cried his name, Sun's flames flickered weakly, and Babasaheb's silver aura sputtered.
And then—Devil whispered, barely audible beneath the Watcher's roar.
"…help… me…"
The spear blazed to life, shadows twisting like a thousand screaming souls. It plunged downward—
And the world itself seemed to shatter into silence.