The veilstep swallowed them in a rush of cold breathlight.

Elira clung to Lirien’s hand as the world blurred into streaks of silver and shadow. The Spiral’s warmth vanished behind them, replaced by the sharp, metallic taste of Loomwake resonance. Threads of memory flickered past — echoes of voices, fragments of names, the faint pulse of Elias’s breath.

Lirien grimaced. “Your resonance is pulling hard. He must be close.”

Elira nodded, breath trembling. “I can feel him. His fear… it’s loud.”

Not because they were family.

Because their threads were linked — two echoes woven from the same mythic loom.

The veilstep spat them out onto a ridge overlooking a valley of twisted roots and broken stone. The air trembled with a low, hungry hum — a resonance that felt wrong, hollow, devouring.

Elira’s breath hitched. “It’s here.”

Lirien lifted his coin. The metal spun violently, then froze, pointing toward a cluster of shattered trees.

“Wonderful,” he muttered. “Straight into the mouth of danger.”

Below them, the ground pulsed with a sickly gray light. A shape moved through the trees — tall, thin, its limbs too long, its body flickering like a broken echo.

The devourer.

Elira’s voice trembled. “It’s hunting him.”

Lirien’s smirk vanished. “Then we don’t have much time.”

They descended the ridge, moving quickly but quietly. The devourer’s presence warped the air, bending resonance into jagged, painful shapes. Elira winced with every step.

“Stay behind me,” Lirien whispered.

“But—”

“No arguments. You’re the only one who can sense him. I’m the only one who can distract that thing long enough for us to reach him.”

They slipped through the trees, following the faint pulse of Elias’s breathlight. It flickered like a dying ember — weak, fading, but still there.

Elira gasped. “He’s hurt.”

Lirien’s jaw tightened. “Then we move faster.”

They reached a clearing where the ground had been torn apart. Roots lay shredded, stones cracked, and the air shimmered with the residue of a Loomwake rupture.

At the center of the destruction lay Elias.

Small. Barefoot. Curled in on himself, breathlight dim.

Elira ran to him, dropping to her knees. “Elias!”

His eyes fluttered open, unfocused. “Elira…?”

She gathered him into her arms. “I’m here. I’m here.”

Lirien knelt beside them, scanning the treeline. “We need to move. Now.”

Elias shivered violently. “It… it took something. I don’t know what. It hurts.”

Elira pressed her forehead to his. “We’ll fix it. I promise.”

A low, rattling hiss echoed through the clearing.

Lirien froze.

The devourer stepped into view.

Its body flickered like a broken reflection. Its face was a mask of shifting shadows. Its eyes were hollow pits of silence.

Elira clutched Elias tighter.

Lirien rose slowly, placing himself between them and the creature. “Alright, nightmare. You want him? You’ll have to go through me.”

The devourer tilted its head, studying him with eerie stillness.

Then it lunged.

The devourer lunged.

Lirien met it head‑on, shadows bursting from his palms as he slammed his hammer of echoes upward. The impact sent a shockwave through the clearing, rattling the broken roots and scattering loose stones. The creature staggered, its form flickering like a corrupted reflection.

But it didn’t fall.

It reformed instantly, limbs stretching, face twisting into a hollow mask of hunger.

Lirien hissed through his teeth. “Of course you’re stubborn.”

The devourer struck again, faster this time. Lirien barely dodged, rolling across the torn ground as a claw of silence sliced through the air where his head had been. The blow carved a deep gouge into the earth, swallowing sound in its wake.

Elira clutched Elias tighter, shielding him with her trembling breathlight. “Lirien!”

“I’m fine,” he called back, though his voice shook. “Mostly.”

The devourer turned toward the children.

Elira’s breath caught. Her shield flickered, dimming under the creature’s oppressive presence. Elias whimpered, curling into her chest.

Lirien’s eyes widened. “No you don’t.”

He hurled his hammer again, this time with a burst of shadow that cracked the air like thunder. The weapon struck the devourer’s shoulder, sending its upper body twisting unnaturally. The creature shrieked — a soundless vibration that rattled Lirien’s bones.

It turned back to him.

Good.

He needed it focused on him, not them.

Lirien planted his feet, breath ragged. “Come on then. I’m right here.”

The devourer lunged again, claws slicing through the air. Lirien dodged left, then right, then vanished in a burst of shadowstep. He reappeared behind the creature and slammed his hammer into its spine.

The devourer collapsed — but only for a heartbeat.

It rose again, body reforming like smoke pulled into shape.

Lirien cursed under his breath. “You’re not even pretending to follow the rules, are you?”

The creature’s head snapped toward him, hollow eyes burning with hunger.

Then it lunged again.

This time, it was faster.

Much faster.

Lirien barely had time to raise his hammer before the devourer’s claw struck him across the chest. The blow lifted him off his feet and sent him crashing into a shattered tree trunk. The impact knocked the breath from his lungs, and his hammer skidded across the ground, landing far out of reach.

Elira screamed. “Lirien!”

He tried to stand — and collapsed to one knee, coughing.

The devourer turned toward the children again.

Elira’s breathlight flared desperately, forming a thin shield around herself and Elias. But the creature’s presence pressed against it like a crushing weight, dimming it with every step.

Elias whimpered. “It’s coming…”

“I know,” Elira whispered, voice trembling. “I know. Stay with me.”

The devourer raised a claw.

Elira braced herself.

Lirien forced himself upright, vision swimming. “No—!”

He shadowstepped — but too late.

The devourer’s claw struck Elira’s shield.

The world exploded in a burst of fractured light.

Elira was thrown backward, crashing into the roots behind her. Elias tumbled from her arms, rolling across the ground before curling into a tight ball, breathlight flickering like a dying ember.

The devourer reformed, turning toward the boy.

Lirien’s heart stopped.

“Elias!”

He sprinted forward, ignoring the pain tearing through his ribs. Shadows burst from his feet, propelling him faster. He reached Elias just as the devourer’s claw descended.

Lirien threw himself over the boy, shadows flaring around them both.

The devourer’s strike hit his back.

Pain ripped through him — cold, hollow, devouring.

He gasped, breath stolen from his lungs.

Elira crawled toward them, tears streaking her face. “Lirien, get up! Please!”

The devourer raised its claw again.

Lirien tried to move.

He couldn’t.

His limbs felt heavy, numb, drained.

The creature leaned closer, its hollow face inches from his. Its breath was cold, empty, wrong.

It wanted Elias.

It wanted the Loomwake spark.

It wanted to consume him.

Lirien forced his body to move — even a little — even if it killed him.

He pushed Elias behind him, shielding him with his own body.

“Not… yours…” he rasped.

The devourer hissed, claws lifting for the killing blow.

And then—

A howl tore through the valley.

Deep. Ancient. Resonant.

The devourer froze.

Elira’s eyes widened. “That’s… that’s not Beast.”

Lirien’s breath hitched. “No. That’s older.”

Another howl answered — closer, louder, shaking the trees.

The devourer trembled, its form flickering violently.

Lirien forced himself upright, swaying. “Looks like you’re not the only nightmare out here.”

The devourer turned toward the sound, body rippling with agitation.

Elira crawled to Elias, pulling him into her arms. “What’s happening?”

Lirien wiped blood from his lip, eyes narrowing. “Something the devourer doesn’t want to meet.”

The howls grew louder.

Closer.

The devourer hissed, backing away from the children.

Lirien lifted his hammer — hand shaking, breath ragged.

“Round two,” he whispered. “Let’s see how you handle company.”

The devourer lunged.