The battlefield was chaos. Mae's scream still tore through the air, but the sound was swallowed by the roar of the Forgotten champion forcing its bulk into the ship. Kaine's body lay motionless on the floor, his golden light already fading into the shadows that surged around them.
Lucien's chains snapped outward, striking like lightning, wrapping around the massive creature's limbs. Sparks flew where they connected, the clash of divine and void energy rattling the ship itself. Ashar dove at its chest, blade blazing like a falling star, cutting deep but not enough to stop its advance.
"Mae!" Riven's voice cut through, his wings sweeping her out of the path of a lunging Forgotten. He landed hard beside her, feathers shredded, his body shaking with exhaustion. "You cannot break now. Do you hear me? You cannot!"
Mae's vision blurred with tears, with fire, with the chains burning hotter beneath her skin. Every nerve screamed at her to collapse, to grieve, to stop, but the war gave her no mercy.
The champion roared, throwing Lucien backward, chains snapping taut and sending him crashing into the bulkhead. Sethis raised his hands, shadows twisting into spears that shot like arrows, pinning half a dozen smaller Forgotten to the walls. But for every one that fell, three more clawed their way through the opening in the ramp.
Mae felt it again, the flare of her visions, the battlefield of fire and glass, her hands dripping with violet light. She staggered forward, clutching her chest as the burn inside her begged to be released.
Ashar shouted across the chaos, his voice hoarse. "Mae, if you hold back now, we are already dead!"
The words slammed into her harder than the battle itself. She looked down at Kaine, his body still, his sacrifice echoing in her ears. Something inside her snapped.
The violet chains tore from her skin in a blinding eruption, lashing out in every direction. The Forgotten shrieked as dozens of them were ripped apart at once, their bodies unraveling into dust and ash. The ground outside quaked as her power surged uncontrolled, sparks of violet light clawing through the battlefield like wildfire.
Lucien pulled himself up, his voice low but steady. "Good. Now with me. Bind to me, Mae!"
Their chains met in the air, violet and white intertwining, and the energy doubled. A whip of pure light cut the champion across its chest, staggering it backward with a howl that shook the earth.
Mae's vision blurred, her breath coming in gasps. She had never felt so alive, so unstoppable, and yet so close to burning herself away.
The champion reeled, its chest splitting open to reveal a hollow void within, a pit of darkness that seemed endless. The Forgotten shrieked louder, their cries harmonizing with it, as if the void itself had been waiting for Mae to open the door wider.
Lucien's eyes snapped to hers, sharp with warning. "If we go further, there may be no return."
Mae clenched her fists, violet fire running down her arms. "Then we go further."
The ship groaned as if it too could feel the weight of her words.
Outside, the valley twisted with light and shadow, the sky bleeding violet streaks from the energy Mae had unleashed. For a heartbeat the swarm recoiled, hundreds of the Forgotten pulling back as if in recognition of something more powerful than themselves. Mae's power pulsed, uncontrolled, filling every corner of the ship with its glow.
But the reprieve was short. The champion's void-heart pulsed once, and the horde surged forward again, faster, hungrier, their claws slamming against the ramp with deafening force.
"Hold the line!" Ashar roared, his blade igniting brighter, flames spreading across the deck as he carved through three at once.
Riven launched back into the air despite the blood dripping down his arm, his feathers scattering sparks of light as he swooped low and slashed through another cluster of creatures. He landed beside Mae again, chest heaving. "You are holding them back. But you will burn out if you do not pace yourself."
"I cannot stop," Mae whispered, her eyes fixed on the champion. "Not now."
The chains under her skin writhed like living things, hungry, desperate to be unleashed. They strained against her control, pushing her to the edge of collapse. Each strike left her weaker, but each strike also tore down another enemy.
Sethis gritted his teeth, his shadows crawling along the walls like living serpents. With a gesture, he sealed another breach where the Forgotten had tried to force their way in. His voice carried over the chaos, deeper than it had ever sounded. "This ship will not hold forever. We need to strike them back before the hull collapses."
Lucien's eyes met Mae's across the chaos. In that moment, there was no one else. No war, no prophecy, no endless horde pressing in from outside. Only the bond they had forged, burning in the space between them.
"We strike together," he said, his voice fierce.
Mae nodded once, violet light spilling from her eyes.
Their chains met again, spiraling upward, forming a weapon that was more than either of them alone. The energy rippled through the air, searing through the bodies of the Forgotten closest to them. The champion staggered, its form splitting wider as if the blow had torn through its void heart.
For an instant Mae thought they had won. She felt the tide shift, the battle tilt in their favor. Hope flickered in her chest.
Then the champion laughed.
It was not sound, not truly. It was the echo of a thousand voices speaking through one hollow throat, a vibration that rattled the walls of the ship and sank its claws into Mae's skull. She cried out, clutching her head, visions flashing too fast for her to stop them. She saw the future again, her hands drenched in violet fire, her chains destroying not only the Forgotten but everyone she loved.
Her knees buckled. Lucien caught her before she hit the floor, his chains lashing out in defense as she trembled in his arms. "Stay with me," he commanded. His voice was harsh, but his eyes were raw with something else. Fear.
Mae forced her body to move, her breath ragged, her chest burning. "I am not afraid. Not anymore."
The champion's form rippled. Its hollow void pulsed brighter, the darkness inside it deepening. It had seen her. Chosen her. Called to her.
The battlefield outside quaked again, as if the entire valley was waiting for Mae's choice.
Her chains flared, binding with Lucien's once more. The champion raised its claws. The war thundered around them.
And Mae stepped forward.