When the last of the chains shattered, the island itself exhaled. Dust fell like snow. The air thickened with power that had been sealed for millennia.
Vorthalaxis rose, his wings spreading across the underground vault, each movement bending the shadows. His true size was absurd—mountain-high, scales black as drowned obsidian and veins that pulsed with molten gold. His breath alone distorted the air.
Rayon stood beneath him, coat whipping in the storm of power, hair brushing his eyes. He said nothing. Just stared.
Then Vorthalaxis shifted—bones cracking, scales compressing, wings folding like origami. In moments, the colossal body shrank into something more manageable: a serpentine form the size of a house, then further still, until it coiled lazily around the cavern's columns, his head now roughly twice Rayon's height.
"You mortals and your cramped spaces," Vorthalaxis muttered, voice still rumbling like thunder. "Behold, my gift of restraint. I can shrink or expand my body as I please—power bends to my will."
Erethon chuckled inside Rayon's mind, his tone mocking. "Fancy trick, snake. But power that bends can also be bound."
Rayon raised a brow. "Meaning?"
"Meaning," Erethon said, his tone now sharper, darker, "your Hollow Strings aren't just for killing or binding enemies. They can tether souls. Contracts. Even gods, if you're insane enough to try. But it's dangerous—both sides share the link. If one dies, the other feels it."
Rayon's eyes flickered silver. "So, a shared fate."
"Exactly," Erethon said. "If you want this beast to follow you, don't rely on words. Use the Strings. Make it absolute."
Rayon exhaled softly, his gaze returning to the serpent. "Vorthalaxis."
The great head lowered slightly, golden eyes glinting. "You would command me already?"
"No," Rayon said. "I'm offering you something better. Freedom—with a price. I'll bind our fates. You'll be free to fly, to burn, to hunt—but your life will be tied to mine. Betray me, and we both fall."
Vorthalaxis tilted his head, a faint glimmer of respect crossing those ancient eyes. "You… intrigue me, human. You speak as if your death would cost me something."
Rayon smirked. "Try me."
The Hollow Strings glowed—a spiral of shadow and silver wrapping around Rayon's arm, then coiling upward toward the serpent's head. The air grew heavy. Vorthalaxis didn't resist; instead, he opened his jaws slightly, letting the strings thread through his fangs and into his soul.
Light and darkness twisted together. The chamber howled as the bond sealed.
When it was done, Rayon stumbled slightly. His heartbeat echoed—two rhythms now instead of one. Vorthalaxis's golden eyes dimmed and then flared again, his voice softer, deeper.
"So be it. Our souls are linked. Should you fall, I fall. Should I burn, you burn."
"Good," Rayon muttered, wiping a drop of blood from his lip. "Now we fly."
The serpent's laughter was sharp, delighted. He shrank again, his body condensing until he was barely larger than a wyvern. With a snap of his wings, he broke through the cavern roof and ascended into the clouds.
Rayon stood on his back, coat flaring, wind screaming past him. The island below was a wound in the ocean, black water boiling from the serpent's released energy.
Erethon's voice hummed in his skull. "You just announced yourself to the entire damned world."
Rayon smirked, eyes fixed on the horizon. "Good."
Somewhere far to the East —
A chamber lined with pale flame trembled. A woman in white robes opened her eyes, her breath sharp. "It's been broken," she whispered.
Around her, five figures stirred. The oldest—his eyes blindfolded with crimson cloth—spoke first. "The Fourth Coil… Vorthalaxis… awakened?"
She nodded. "Someone unsealed him."
Murmurs spread through the hall like ripples.
"Call the others," said the blindfolded one. "If that serpent walks again, the age of seals is crumbling. The Obsidian Web will move soon. We must not let them reach him first."
Somewhere in an estate—
Cairo stood in the war room, shirtless, his back crisscrossed with scars that pulsed faintly with black energy. Maps covered the walls, marked with shifting sigils. He poured himself a drink—something dark and burning.
His eyes glowed faintly amber as he stared at the map. "Another seal broken…" he murmured. "Rayon's been busy."
A smirk pulled at his lips. "Good. It's about time the world remembered what chaos feels like."
Behind him, a shadow moved—a woman in black armor stepped forward. "You plan to interfere?"
Cairo chuckled. "No. I plan to watch. And if the world burns, maybe I'll add a little fuel."
He downed the drink, flames flickering briefly in his eyes.
Somewhere Underground —
Meanwhile, deep in a forgotten tomb, Severin knelt beside an ancient coffin etched with runes. The glow of his lantern cast long shadows over the bones scattered around him.
He was humming quietly, one hand resting on the seal he'd been studying for weeks. When the tremor of Vorthalaxis's awakening reached him, the runes cracked slightly, and his smile widened.
"So… another piece of the past wakes up."
He rose slowly, dusting off his coat. "Then maybe it's time I wake mine."
He placed his palm over the cracked seal, his whisper soft but filled with anticipation. "Rise, my slumbering kin. The stage is being set."
The coffin trembled. Something inside answered.
High above the ocean, Rayon and Vorthalaxis cut through the storm, lightning flashing across their silhouettes. Erethon's laughter still echoed faintly in his mind.
"So, Rayon," he teased, "how does it feel to have a god under your feet?"
Rayon's grin was quiet but dangerous. "Feels like the world's finally getting interesting."