Silence swallowed the battlefield.
Not a peaceful silence.
A heavy, suffocating one.
The perfected brood knelt in the center of the clearing—
trembling, flickering, struggling to breathe
as Kanah's resonance clawed through the chains binding its instincts.
Kanah sagged in Owain's arms, half-conscious, chest heaving.
Owain held her up with both arms, his claws digging into the dirt behind her.
His breathing was ragged.
His eyes were wild.
"Kana—stay awake—stay with me—"
She tried.
God, she tried.
But her body was shaking uncontrollably, the aftershock of breaking a resonance bond far stronger than she was physically ready for.
"Owain… I can't—"
"You CAN," he growled.
Yllas landed beside them.
"Her seed is straining.
If she breaks another bond like that, she'll collapse completely."
Gerrin knelt, pressing glowing palms to her shoulders.
"I'm stabilizing what I can, but her resonance is—"
He swallowed.
"—awakening again."
Kanah laughed weakly.
"Of course it is…
why wouldn't it…?"
Helion crouched beside her.
"If you die here I'm gonna kill you again, understood?"
Owain snarled.
"Don't talk to her right now—she needs quiet—"
Then the air changed.
A sound—
not thunder—
not roar—
not magic—
a low hum, vibrating the ground like the breath of something ancient and predatory.
Kanah's heart stopped.
Owain stiffened.
Gerrin's face went white.
The Devourer King stepped down from the ridge.
One slow step.
Then another.
Then another.
Each one making the earth pulse.
Leopards hid beneath branches.
Elves braced their staffs with shaking hands.
Dragons flared their wings in instinctive fear.
Wolves crouched, growling low and uncertain.
Even the guardian beast backed up half a step.
Kanah's breath hitched.
He wasn't using magic.
He wasn't using tricks.
He wasn't using illusions.
His presence was simply—
too heavy.
Too old.
Too deeply ingrained into the biological hierarchy of Devourers.
He approached the kneeling perfected brood first.
The creature lifted its head, trembling.
Not in fear—
but in confusion.
"F… father…" it rasped.
Kanah's stomach twisted.
Her father studied it like a cracked tool.
"You failed."
The brood shuddered, eyes flickering with broken resonance.
Kanah's voice was raw.
"He didn't fail.
He woke up."
Her father's eyes slowly lifted toward her—
and Owain stepped between them instantly, growling so deeply the ground trembled.
"DON'T LOOK AT HER."
The Devourer King ignored the warning.
His gaze lingered on Kanah's collapsing form in Owain's arms.
"You are weakening yourself," he said.
"You cannot sustain resonance interference.
Your body is human."
Kanah forced her eyes open.
"I know."
A flash of irritation crossed his face.
"Then why do you insist on clinging to that flaw?"
Owain snarled.
"Her humanity is NOT a flaw!"
Her father tilted his head.
"Then why does it break her?"
Kanah pushed against Owain weakly.
"I'm not broken," she whispered.
"I'm tired."
Yllas steadied her back.
Gerrin braced her shoulders.
Helion flicked blood off his claws and positioned himself in front of her.
They were forming a shield around her again—
a living wall of love, instinct, loyalty, purpose.
The Devourer King looked at the four of them—
wolf, dragon, elf, leopard—
all gathered around one human girl.
And something inside him shifted.
It wasn't rage.
It wasn't surprise.
It was—
confusion.
"You are beasts," he said softly.
"You should not unite.
You should not share territory.
You should not fight together."
Yllas spoke first, frost-fire curling around his knuckles.
"That's the problem with you Devourers."
Helion grinned, baring fangs.
"You think everyone else works like you."
Gerrin lifted his chin.
"We choose bonds. Not dominance."
Owain growled.
"And she is ours."
Kanah's father finally faced Owain fully.
"You challenged me once before."
Owain's jaw clenched.
"And I'll do it again."
The King stepped closer.
Owain's instincts exploded—
fur bristling
muscles bulging
eyes going gold-white
breath turning into snarls—
He shoved Kanah back toward Yllas and Gerrin.
"DON'T TOUCH HER," he roared.
"DON'T EVEN LOOK AT HER."
Kanah reached for him.
"Owain—stop—he's baiting you—"
Owain didn't hear her.
His instincts were too loud.
Too fierce.
Too primal.
"You want her?" he snarled.
"THEN FIGHT ME."
A murmur rippled through the tribes.
Helion's eyes widened.
"Shit—he's going full feral."
Gerrin sputtered.
"We can't let him do that—he'll die—"
Yllas shook his head.
"No.
He's not feral."
He stared at Owain with something like awe.
"He's becoming a true Wolf King."
Kanah staggered upright, pushing away Yllas' support.
"Owain—please—don't do this—"
Owain didn't look back.
His voice came out like gravel breaking apart.
"He hurt you."
"Owain—"
"He touched your mind."
"Owain, please—"
"He tried to take you."
Kanah shook.
"I know—
but if you fight him now—
you won't survive—"
Owain's full voice, instinct, and heart answered:
"I DON'T CARE."
Kanah's chest cracked in half.
She shoved forward, voice breaking.
"Owain—
I need you—
I need you alive—
I need you HERE—
with me—"
That made him freeze.
Only for a second.
But enough.
Her father noticed it instantly.
He smiled.
Cold.
Triumphant.
"You see?" he said softly.
"You are his weakness."
Owain snapped around so hard the air hissed.
"She is my STRENGTH."
The Devourer King's eyes finally hardened.
Enough play.
He lifted his hand.
Not in magic.
Not in spell.
In command.
The perfected brood stood.
Its cracked aura flared.
Kanah's heart plummeted.
"No—
no—
NO—
I BROKE YOU—
DON'T LISTEN—
DON'T—"
But the brood's eyes turned black-gold again.
Not fully under control.
Not free.
Caught between.
Trembling.
Struggling.
Kanah screamed.
"OWAIN—IT'S COMING!"
Owain shoved Kanah behind him with one arm—
and charged.
The brood charged too.
Their collision made the ground shake.
Owain's claws sank into its chest.
The brood's arm smashed into Owain's ribs.
Blood sprayed.
Kanah sobbed.
"Owain—stop—OWAIN—!!"
He roared, voice wild and broken.
"STAY.
BACK."
The Devourer King watched.
Expression calm.
Hands clasped behind his back.
"You cannot protect her," he told Owain quietly.
Owain spat blood.
"I CAN."
"You will fail."
"I WON'T."
The King's voice lowered to a whisper.
"She will choose me."
And for the first time since Kanah arrived in this world—
Owain's certainty…
cracked.
But only for a second.
Kanah saw it.
So did her father.
And he smiled—
because that crack
was everything he needed.
Kanah screamed.
"Owain—DON'T LISTEN—!!"
But it was too late.
The Devourer King stepped forward—
toward Kanah.
Toward the exhausted human girl whose resonance was burning too bright, too fast.
Owain's snarl ripped through the forest.
He tried to reach her—
but the brood slammed him back, pinning him with crushing force.
Kanah watched Owain struggle—
watched him bleed—
watched him fight—
watched him crumble—
and something inside her snapped.
The world blurred.
Her pulse roared.
Her seed burned gold and white.
Her father's voice washed over her like poison.
"Come, Kanara."
And she answered—
not in submission.
Not in fear.
But in rage.
"No."
She stepped forward—
and the forest shook.
Her resonance ignited—
bright
blinding
human
beautiful
terrifying.
Kanah raised her head—
and for the first time in her father's long life—
the Devourer King looked startled.