The Spiral forest was quiet in a way it had never been before — not tense, not waiting, but reverent. The air shimmered with the fading glow of the Spiral’s blessing, and the ground hummed with the soft pulse of roots settling after the trials.

Elias and Beast stood at the center of the clearing, their new Spiral marks glowing faintly on their wrists. Brinrose and Elira flanked them, wings half‑unfurled, their light steady and warm.

Rosalie stepped forward first, her wings folding with a soft rustle. “The Spiral has spoken. Your path no longer lies here.”

Rose joined her, Silent Sight glowing like moonlit glass. “There are Loomwake gates across the realms. Spiral fractures. Echoes that have not yet awakened. You four are the ones chosen to face them.”

Thalwyn, Liraen, and the Captain — the Spiral Wardens — formed a protective arc behind the Elders, their stances strong, their presence grounding the moment.

Luke approached Elias slowly, as if memorizing every step. “Son… this will be the last time we see you for a while.”

Elias’s breathlight flickered. “But I just—”

Luke pulled him into a fierce embrace before he could finish. “You’re ready. And we have to let you go.”

Rose wrapped her arms around both of them, her voice soft but steady. “My spark… you carry our light with you. Wherever you go, it goes too.”

Elias held them tightly, breath trembling. “I’ll come back.”

“We know,” Rose whispered. “But the Spiral needs you more than we do now.”

A few steps away, Rosalie placed a hand on Beast’s shoulder. “You have grown beyond what even the Elders foresaw. Protect him. Protect each other.”

Beast bowed his head. “With everything I am.”

Brinrose stepped closer, emberlight flickering with emotion. Elira wiped a tear from her cheek, wings trembling.

Rosalie turned to the Spiral Wardens. “Guard the Spiral. Guard the flask. Guard the realms until they return.”

The Wardens bowed in unison.

The air shifted — warm, rising, expectant.

Beast exhaled, flame curling around him. “It’s time.”

Elias nodded, breathlight brightening. “Let’s go.”

Their bodies shimmered — flame, breathlight, ember, warmth — merging into their full forms.

Beast shifted first, towering and magnificent:

wolf head, dragon body, phoenix wings, flame rippling across his scales.

Elias followed, his own form blazing gold‑silver, wings unfurling in radiant arcs.

Brinrose climbed onto Beast’s back, emberlight glowing like a second heartbeat.

Elira settled onto Elias’s, her warmth wrapping around him like a shield.

The Elders stepped back.

The Spiral Wardens saluted.

The moon rose high above the trees, full and bright — a silver path carved across the sky.

Beast spread his wings.

Elias spread his.

Together, they leapt into the air, flames and light trailing behind them as they soared toward the moonlit horizon.

Rosalie whispered, “Protectors of Spiral and Loomwake…”

Rose finished softly, “…fly well.”

And the four vanished into the night —

off to their next great adventure.

The night air rushed past them in cool, silver currents as they soared higher, wings beating in perfect rhythm. Below them, the Spiral forest shrank into a patchwork of glowing roots and drifting mist. Above them, the full moon hung like a silent guardian, lighting their path across the sky.

Elias felt the wind ripple through his feathers, each beat of his wings sending a pulse of gold‑silver light across the clouds. Elira held steady behind him, her warmth flowing into his back like a second heartbeat.

“You’re flying smoother,” she said softly, her voice carried by the wind.

Elias smiled. “I feel… lighter. Like the Spiral took something heavy out of me.”

“It did,” Elira whispered. “It took the fear you didn’t need anymore.”

Ahead of them, Beast flew in a powerful arc, his massive wings cutting through the night with effortless strength. Brinrose sat securely between his shoulders, emberlight trailing behind her like sparks from a comet.

She leaned forward slightly. “How’s your flame?”

“Steady,” Beast rumbled. “For the first time in a long while.”

Brinrose smiled, her emberlight glowing brighter. “Good. You deserve steady.”

The four of them flew in formation — two great protectors, two anchors, four lights woven into one path. The Spiral’s blessing shimmered faintly on their wrists, reacting to the moonlight with soft pulses.

Elias glanced toward Beast. “Where do we go first?”

Beast tilted his wings, adjusting their course. “The Spiral didn’t show a destination. It showed a direction.”

Elira nodded. “Toward the Loomwake gates.”

Brinrose added, “Toward the realms that need you.”

The wind shifted suddenly — a warm current rising from below, carrying with it a faint, unfamiliar scent. Elias’s wings faltered for a moment.

“Did you feel that?”

Beast slowed, hovering in place as the others circled around him. “Yes. Something’s stirring.”

Elira closed her eyes, letting her warmth extend outward like a soft wave. “It’s not an echo. Not a devourer. Not a hallow.”

Brinrose’s emberlight flickered. “Then what is it?”

Elias’s breathlight pulsed once — sharp, instinctive.

“A call,” he whispered. “Someone’s calling for help.”

Beast’s flame rose. “From where?”

Elias pointed toward the horizon, where the moonlight bent strangely, as if the sky itself were warping around a distant point.

“There.”

The Spiral mark on his wrist glowed brighter.

Beast’s did too.

Elira’s wings trembled. “That’s a Loomwake gate.”

Brinrose’s eyes widened. “And it’s unstable.”

The air around them vibrated — a low, resonant hum that made the clouds ripple.

Elias steadied his wings. “We have to go.”

Beast nodded once, flame igniting along his wings. “Then hold tight.”

The four of them angled toward the warped moonlight, wings beating in unison as they shot across the sky — Protectors and Anchors, bound by truth, chosen by the Spiral, flying toward the first realm that needed them.

The night opened before them.

The adventure had begun.

The warped moonlight grew brighter as they approached, bending the sky into a twisting arc of silver and gold. The air around them vibrated with a low hum, like a heartbeat out of rhythm.

Elias felt it first — a sharp tug in his chest, as if his breathlight were being pulled forward. “It’s getting stronger.”

Elira tightened her hold on him. “The call is close. Whatever’s happening… it’s urgent.”

Ahead of them, Beast angled his wings downward, slowing their descent as the clouds parted to reveal a sight none of them had ever seen.

A Loomwake gate, suspended in midair.

Not anchored to stone.

Not rooted in the Spiral.

Just floating — a massive ring of fractured light, spinning slowly like a broken halo.

Brinrose’s emberlight flickered. “That’s not normal.”

Beast growled softly. “No. Gates don’t float. They’re supposed to be grounded.”

Elias hovered beside him, eyes wide. “It looks… unstable.”

The gate pulsed — once, twice — each thrum sending a ripple of distortion across the sky. The moonlight bent around it, warping into spirals that twisted like torn fabric.

Elira’s wings trembled. “Something’s trying to force it open.”

Beast narrowed his eyes. “Or something’s trying to break out.”

A sudden crack split the air.

The gate flared violently, shards of light peeling away from its surface like splintered glass. A gust of wind blasted outward, nearly knocking Elias off balance.

Beast steadied him with a wing. “Easy.”

Elias’s breathlight pulsed in warning. “There’s someone inside.”

Brinrose leaned forward. “How do you know?”

“I can feel them,” Elias whispered. “They’re scared.”

The gate cracked again — louder this time — and a streak of shadow burst through the opening, spiraling downward like a falling star.

Elira gasped. “Something’s coming out!”

Beast’s flame surged. “Brace yourselves!”

The falling shape twisted midair, catching the moonlight — revealing a small figure, curled tightly, tumbling helplessly toward the forest below.

Elias’s heart lurched. “It’s a child!”

Without hesitation, he folded his wings and dove.

“Elira, hold on!”

Beast roared and followed, Brinrose gripping his scales as they plunged after Elias. The wind screamed past them as the falling figure spun closer to the treetops.

Elias reached out, breathlight blazing. “I’ve got you!”

At the last second, he caught the child in his arms, wings snapping open with a burst of gold‑silver light. The impact jarred his shoulders, but he held tight, slowing their descent until they landed in a clearing below.

Beast touched down beside him, flame dim but steady. Brinrose and Elira rushed forward.

Elias cradled the small figure gently.

A young girl — no older than eight — trembling, her eyes glowing with faint Loomwake light.

Brinrose knelt beside them. “Is she hurt?”

Elias shook his head. “No. Just scared.”

The girl opened her eyes — bright, silver‑blue — and whispered one trembling word:

“Help…”

Then she fainted.

Beast looked toward the sky, where the unstable gate still pulsed violently.

“This is only the beginning.”

The clearing was quiet except for the soft rustle of leaves and the faint hum of the unstable gate far above. Elias held the unconscious girl gently, her small frame trembling with leftover fear.

Elira knelt beside him, placing a warm hand over the girl’s forehead. “She’s not hurt. Just overwhelmed.”

Beast lowered his massive form, shifting back into his humanoid shape with a ripple of flame. Brinrose slid off his back, emberlight dim but steady. “Whoever she is… she didn’t fall through by accident.”

Elias nodded. “She was pushed.”

The Spiral mark on his wrist pulsed once — a warning, not a call.

Beast’s eyes narrowed. “Something forced that gate open. Something strong.”

The girl stirred.

Her fingers curled weakly into Elias’s shirt, and her eyes fluttered open — silver‑blue, glowing faintly with Loomwake light.

She looked at Elias first.

Then at Beast.

Then at the sky, where the fractured gate still spun like a broken halo.

Her voice was barely a whisper. “It’s coming…”

Elias leaned closer. “What is?”

The girl swallowed, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. “The thing that broke my home.”

Elira’s wings tightened. “Your home… was through that gate?”

The girl nodded shakily. “It’s chasing me. It wants the light. It wants… all the light.”

Beast rose to his full height, flame igniting along his arms. “Then we stop it.”

The girl clung to Elias, trembling. “You can’t. It’s already here.”

A cold wind swept through the clearing.

The trees shuddered.

The Spiral mark on all four of their wrists flared at once.

Elias looked up sharply.

Something moved in the shadows.

And the night answered with a low, echoing growl.