The Abyss had gone silent.
Too silent.
Shadows froze in place.
The air tightened like a fist.
Even the Remainder dared not move.
Because Kael…
was changing again.
Arhaan saw it first — a ripple under Kael's skin, like lightning trapped in flesh.
> "Kael?
Stay with me."
Kael didn't answer.
His breathing grew uneven.
His new wings — half starfire, half void — twitched violently.
A low hum vibrated through the broken world.
Kael grabbed his own head.
> "N–ngh… Arhaan…"
Arhaan stepped closer, voice soft.
> "Fight it. You're stronger than the Abyss."
Kael's eyes snapped open.
They weren't his.
They burned white-gold at the center
— and pure abyss-black at the edges.
A spiraling eclipse.
---
I. THE SURGE
Kael's body jerked violently as a pulse of raw power exploded outward.
Arhaan threw up a barrier.
Too late.
The shockwave flung him across the chasm.
Black lightning carved through the Abyssal ground.
Starlight ignited in cracks like molten suns.
Kael roared — a sound that was not human, not angel, not anything Arhaan recognized.
It shook the world.
Chunks of reality fell like broken glass.
Arhaan forced himself up, wings trembling.
> "Kael! Listen to me!"
Kael clawed at his chest, as if trying to rip something out from inside.
> "It's t—too much— I can't—"
His voice warped mid-sentence.
Half Kael.
Half something ancient.
---
II. WHEN THE HYBRID BREAKS
The Remainder dared to approach.
A thousand whispering mouths spoke:
> "THE HYBRID IS UNSTABLE.
HE WILL TEAR THE ABYSS APART."
Arhaan's eyes sharpened.
> "If he collapses, the heavens fall with us."
Kael staggered toward him, barely conscious.
Black fire leaked from one shoulder.
Golden plasma dripped from the other.
His wings convulsed.
One side blazing like a newborn star.
One side writhing like living shadow.
Kael's voice cracked:
> "Arhaan— run."
Arhaan stepped forward.
> "I'm not leaving you."
Kael shook his head violently.
> "I—I don't want to hurt you—"
His body spasmed.
A rift tore open behind him, pulled from his power alone.
Arhaan whispered, horrified:
> "He's tearing open reality…"
Kael screamed.
---
III. THE STAR WHO REFUSES TO LET GO
Arhaan didn't hesitate.
He wrapped both arms around Kael from behind, gripping him tight.
Kael thrashed.
Clawed.
His power flared, wild enough to vaporize stars—
—but Arhaan held him anyway.
> "Kael!
Hear me!"
Kael's body surged with uncontrolled light and dark, crackling like a storm about to explode.
Arhaan pressed his forehead to Kael's neck.
His voice dropped:
> "You saved me from chains.
Now let me save you from yourself."
The words cut through the storm.
Kael froze — just for a heartbeat.
Enough.
Arhaan summoned what little power he still had.
Soft, starlit warmth spread from his chest to Kael's spine, then through his entire body.
A pulse of calm.
A pulse of connection.
A pulse of memory.
Kael inhaled sharply.
> "Ar…haan…?"
Arhaan whispered:
> "Come back."
---
IV. THE HYBRID AWAKENS
The darkness inside Kael twisted.
The starfire inside him bucked like a wild sun.
Then—
Kael's fingers slowly unclenched.
The rift behind him stopped growing.
His wings settled, still trembling, but no longer out of control.
Kael collapsed forward.
Arhaan caught him.
Kael buried his face into Arhaan's shoulder, shaking.
> "I… almost destroyed everything."
Arhaan held him tighter.
> "But you didn't.
Because you listened to me."
Kael let out a shaky breath.
> "I'm sorry."
Arhaan smiled softly.
> "Don't be.
This power isn't meant to be controlled in a day."
Kael's new eyes dimmed, returning closer to normal.
But not fully.
Never fully again.
He spoke quietly, fear lingering in his voice:
> "Arhaan… what if next time I can't stop myself?"
Arhaan pulled him closer.
> "Then I'll stop you."
Kael looked up.
Arhaan met his gaze.
> "I won't let you face this alone.
Not ever."
Somewhere deep inside Kael's chest— the ancient thing watching through his eyes—
stirred at those words.