The world blurred around Aki, his body succumbing to the overwhelming agony of the Architect's attack. His vision was going dark, the vibrant golden glow of his being dimming to a faint, sickly flicker. He was almost unconscious, a defeated warrior in the face of absolute malice. But even as his body failed, his soul, forever bound to Lyra, was still a single, burning point of light.
And through that light, he saw.
Lyra's spark of essence, a tiny, defiant beacon of pure white light, tore through the vast, endless void of Acheron. It was a journey of moments, but to Aki, it felt like an eternity. He saw through her eyes, a silent, desperate prayer on a mission. The spark weaved through the grotesque, screaming monsters and past the cold, contemptuous gaze of the Architect. It didn't matter. It was a single-minded arrow of hope, destined for one target.
And then, it found him.
It found the spirit of Kael. He was not gone. He was not erased. His soul, a pale, unconscious echo of its former self, was sealed away in a place far from his body's consciousness. Aki saw him as a ghostly figure, floating in a dark, silent chamber that existed only within the horrifying tapestry of the Architect's will.
The sight was more devastating than any physical wound. Kael's soul was bound, just as his body was. Dark, spiritual chains, forged from the same malevolent energy that bound the serene god, were wrapped around his wrists and ankles. They pulsed with a sickening, slow beat, like a malignant heart. Around his limp, unconscious form, a thin miasma of dark blood swirled. It was not physical blood, but the spiritual evidence of his torment, a visible sign of the corruption and pain the Architect was inflicting on his soul.
The sight of his friend, his mentor, suffering in such a silent, spiritual agony, reignited a fire in Aki. His despair, his pain, his sorrow—all of it transformed into a fierce, protective rage. The Architect had not just taken his friend. He had stolen his soul, locked it away, and was torturing it, using its very pain to power the cruel machine that controlled his body.
The vision faded. Aki was back in the moment, in the physical world. He was still on the ground, his body broken and exhausted, with the possessed Kael standing over him, the Architect's triumphant laughter echoing from the throne. The monsters were still advancing. But it didn't matter anymore. He had seen Kael. He had seen the truth. And now he knew what had to be done.
Lyra's spark of light, having found its target, now hovered near Kael's possessed body, a tiny star of hope in a vast, cold darkness. It was a final gamble. A desperate, impossible bid to save the soul of a friend.