The city shuddered as if it were alive, each brick and river trembling beneath the Red Moon's omnipresent gaze. Streets twisted like serpents, looping upon themselves, buildings folded into impossible angles, and shadows moved independently, whispering doubts into the minds of anyone who dared walk beneath them.
Adrian staggered through a cracked avenue, the vessel's mark burning against his chest with each heartbeat. Every pulse echoed the Red Moon's rhythm, pulling at his mind, dredging up lust, fear, and doubt in equal measure. The combined energy from his and Elira's previous effort had left him drained, but there was no time to rest. The city itself threatened to swallow them whole.
Elira trailed behind, leaning heavily on Adrian's arm. Her temporal magic was still flickering from the Autumn Cult's ritual, sending ripples through the streets that made reality unstable. Every step forward risked pulling them into another fractured timeline—a place where time repeated itself endlessly, or past horrors replayed in grotesque loops.
From above, Crysmal circled anxiously, wings slicing through the crimson haze, every beat sending gusts that bent reality further. The dragon's eyes were wide, pupils dilated. "I… I can't keep this stable!" it wailed, talons scraping against folding rooftops. "Everything… everything keeps moving… everywhere!"
Adrian clenched his fists. "Then we stabilize what we can. One step at a time!"
Kael appeared beside them, blood streaking his swords, chest rising and falling heavily. "The Devil is testing me," he said. "I've held him off for now, but he won't stop. The city's fractures… they're feeding him, feeding the Red Moon. Every second counts."
A distant laugh echoed across the twisted cityscape. Lucien emerged from the shadows, eyes alight with malice. Ash followed, blades crystallized and humming with lethal intent. Morwen's robes swirled above them, casting temporal illusions that warped perception—streets folding into themselves, alleys stretching into infinity.
Adrian's chest flared painfully. The Red Moon whispered, insistent and malicious: You cannot protect her. You are too weak. You will succumb to desire before you save her.
He fought to push the thoughts away, channeling the vessel's energy outward. Crimson shards erupted from his hands, cutting through phobia-monsters that spilled from temporal rifts—shapes formed of shadow, nightmare, and twisted desire. Each strike stabilized a fragment of the city temporarily, but the cost left him staggering.
Lucien smirked, advancing. "So noble, so predictable. Always rushing to save her… always reacting, never controlling." His voice was a blade, carving doubt into Adrian's mind.
Ash moved in perfect coordination, targeting the energy Adrian emitted. Crystals struck the crimson lattice, creating cracks that sent him sprawling across the fractured pavement. Time warped beneath him; he landed in three different spots at once before finally hitting the correct one.
Morwen's chant intensified, her voice weaving the Red Moon's influence into the very air. Time folded violently around them—every step forward forced Adrian to relive moments of failure, moments where he had lost, where he had been powerless.
Elira's voice broke through, soft but determined: "Focus… anchor… your mind! Remember us!" She extended her hands, pushing a fragment of her unstable temporal energy into Adrian's control, reinforcing the lattice. The combined power formed a fragile bubble of stability, keeping the worst of the temporal chaos at bay.
But the respite was brief. A massive phobia-monster, larger than any Adrian had faced before, emerged from the folds of time—a towering figure with multiple limbs, its eyes reflecting the Red Moon itself. Every movement left echoes across reality, threatening to pull the city apart entirely.
Kael's swords gleamed as he leapt toward the Devil, who now fully descended onto the streets. The father and son clashed violently, white energy slashing through darkness. Each strike caused minor fractures in time around them—windows of the past and future appearing and disappearing in milliseconds.
Crysmal flared in panic, wings smashing against buildings. "I can't hold it… it's too much!" The dragon's emotional outburst sent a shockwave that destabilized the giant phobia-monster, throwing it off balance for just a moment. That was enough.
Adrian, breathing heavily, summoned every ounce of vessel energy remaining. He struck, piercing the monster's core, shattering it into fragments of shadow and nightmare. The temporal rifts feeding the creature collapsed, and for an instant, the city was quiet—no monsters, no echoes, just unstable buildings and twisted streets.
Lucien hissed in frustration, vanishing into an alley. Ash and Morwen followed, regrouping for another strike. "They retreat… for now," Kael said, chest heaving. "But this city… it's a cage of the Red Moon. And the Red Moon… it's patient."
Adrian supported Elira as she leaned against him, her hands shaking. "We… survived again," she whispered, though fear lingered in her eyes.
Kael sheathed his swords, facing the looming crimson sky. "Survived, yes… but we are running out of time. The Red Moon has marked us. Every collapse, every fracture, every phobia-monster… it is a test. A warning. And soon… it will demand more than endurance."
Crysmal landed heavily beside them, wings folding, tears streaking down its massive face. "I… I just want it to stop," the dragon whimpered.
Adrian knelt beside Crysmal, placing a hand on the trembling creature. "We will stop it… together. But we have to prepare. The Red Moon won't wait."
Above, the Red Moon pulsed, crimson and omnipotent, reflecting the chaos below. Shadows shifted, whispers rose, and the city waited—its streets hungry, its skies bleeding.
And in the darkness, Lucien, Ash, and Morwen plotted, their eyes alight with malice, as the Red Moon's whispers promised horrors still to come.
Time was collapsing. Reality was fracturing. And the next strike would be worse.