Lucas barely had time to catch his breath before the Orb flared again — not with light, but with heat. A pulse of warning slammed into his skull, the way a predator's growl rattles prey.
"It's found us… again," Seris said, scanning the horizon.
The Veilways' violet sky twisted as if wrung by an invisible hand. From the tear in reality, the creature stepped out, larger than before — its horns branching like blackened trees, wings of molten shadow unfurling with a hiss. Its voice was a low, mocking thunder:
"Did you think I was chasing you? No, little thief… I'm herding you."
Lucas tightened his grip on the Orb. "Why?"
"Because here… you can't hide from the truth."
The air turned electric, crackling with black lightning. Lucas felt his magic recoil as though a wall had slammed shut. He tried to summon fire — nothing. Water — nothing. The creature was locking the affinities down.
The Orb's voice cut through his panic. There is one affinity it cannot bind. But it's forbidden.
"Forbidden?" Lucas hissed.
Because it is older than balance itself… older than light, shadow, or chaos. It is the Affinity of Ruin.
Seris's eyes widened. "Lucas, no. That magic kills the wielder as surely as the enemy."
The creature lunged, claws leaving trails of burning void in the air. Lucas had seconds to choose. His friends couldn't outrun this thing. There was no way back.
"I'll take my chances," he snarled, and let the Orb open.
It wasn't like channeling fire or wind. It was like swallowing a star that hated everything. Power flooded his veins, thick and molten, and the world dimmed around him. The grass beneath his feet withered to ash; the sky cracked like glass overhead.
The monster hesitated. Just for a moment — but it hesitated.
Lucas raised his hand, and a blade of black-gold energy formed, its edges bleeding starlight. When he swung it, the air didn't just split — it ceased to exist for a heartbeat, leaving a jagged hole in the world that slowly knitted shut.
The creature laughed again, but there was strain in its voice. "Ruin? You dare?"
Lucas struck again, each blow carving deep gouges in the Veilways' reality. The monster retaliated with a hurricane of shadow, but the Ruin affinity devoured it like dry leaves in a firestorm.
"You feel that?" Lucas growled. "That's fear."
With a roar, he drove the blade straight into the monster's chest. The world went white. A sound like every bell in creation shattering at once tore through the air.
When Lucas could see again, the creature was on its knees, cracks running through its body, black flames spilling out like blood. But before he could finish it, the Orb screamed in his head:
Stop! You'll tear yourself apart!
Pain hit him like a tidal wave. The Ruin affinity wasn't just burning his magic — it was eating him from the inside out. His vision blurred, his hands shaking. The blade flickered.
The creature grinned through broken fangs. "Now you see. Power without end… always ends you."
With the last of its strength, it dissolved into the shadows, vanishing — but not before whispering: "Next time, boy… I'll bring the rest of me."
Lucas collapsed. The Orb dimmed, its voice soft but grim. You survived… but you've shown it your last weapon. It will be ready for it next time.
Seris knelt beside him, her face pale. "Then we'd better make sure there's no next time."