The sound came again — claws against stone, closer this time.
Seris motioned for silence, crouching low. Kaelen unsheathed a thin, curved blade that caught the dim light like water. Lucas's heartbeat pounded so loudly he swore the Echo-Beast could hear it.
Then the air changed.
The cold deepened. Shadows stretched unnaturally.
"It's in the pass," Seris murmured.
The Orb flared hot against Lucas's chest, like it was thrilled. Images spilled into his mind uninvited — blinding arcs of light, a serpent made of flame, the smell of ozone after lightning. He gasped and clutched at it.
I can help you, a voice said.
It wasn't exactly human — layered, like dozens of voices speaking in unison.
Lucas stumbled back. "Did you—? Did either of you hear that?"
Kaelen shot him a sharp look. "You're hearing it already? That's fast."
"What do you mean 'fast'?" Lucas hissed.
"It's talking to you because it's waking up," Kaelen said. "That's dangerous. Once it knows you, it can start… shaping you."
The voice pressed harder, whispering Merge with me. Just a little. I'll burn it to ash.
Lucas's hands trembled. "It's offering to help."
Seris's face tightened. "And the price?"
The Orb's heat was almost unbearable now. The voice became a roar in his head: Say yes. We'll be stronger than anything. Just let me in.
The scraping became a thunder of movement. From the shadows, the Echo-Beast emerged — taller than a man, body warped with jagged spines, its head a mask of shifting smoke. Its many eyes glimmered like molten gold.
Seris fired her crossbow. The bolt struck — but the thing simply rippled and kept coming.
Kaelen lunged, blade flashing, slicing deep into one of its limbs. The wound hissed and sealed before Lucas's eyes.
"You can't kill it with steel!" Kaelen shouted. "We need affinity fire or—"
"—or me," the Orb's voice cut in, silky and certain.
Lucas's fear tipped into desperation. "Fine! Just… just don't kill me in the process!"
The moment he agreed, the world exploded.
It was like someone had torn the sky open and poured the sun into his veins. Colors sharpened until they hurt to look at. Every sound was layered — the drip of water in the cliffs, the shifting of gravel under claws, the Beast's ragged breath.
And then… power.
It wasn't just his body anymore. The Orb's presence wrapped around him like a second skin, guiding his muscles, sharpening his movements. His right hand rose, fingers crackling with light — red, blue, green, gold, all swirling together into a sphere of churning energy.
Throw it, the Orb commanded.
Lucas hurled the sphere. It struck the Echo-Beast square in the chest — and for the first time, it screamed. The multicolored fire clung to its form, eating at the shadows until its body began to unravel.
The Beast staggered, then turned and fled into the darkness, its form flickering like smoke in a strong wind.
Lucas collapsed to his knees, chest heaving. The Orb's heat faded, leaving a cold emptiness in its wake.
Kaelen knelt beside him. "You merged." It wasn't a question.
Lucas nodded weakly. "Half a soul… that's what it felt like. Like it wasn't just me in here anymore."
Seris's jaw tightened. "Then we need to move faster. The more you merge, the harder it'll be to tell where you end and it begins."
Lucas looked toward the black maw of the pass, the echoes of the Beast's scream still ringing in his skull.
Somehow, he knew — this wasn't the last time the Orb would ask for more.