Buildings twisted impossibly, bridges ended in midair, and crimson rivers bled into the streets without warning. Time still fractured around them, though less violently than before, as if the Red Moon were catching its breath, watching and waiting.
Adrian staggered, clutching Elira's trembling hand. The vessel's sigil burned hot against his chest, a constant pulse that mirrored the Red Moon's heartbeat above. Each pulse carried visions, whispers of lust and fear, and the creeping knowledge that overuse could cost him his sanity—or worse.
Elira's eyes were wide, filled with lingering terror. "Adrian… I… I thought I was gone," she whispered, voice cracking. Her temporal magic, strained and flickering from the cult's ritual, caused ripples in the very air—moments folding onto themselves, her own presence appearing twice in fleeting reflections.
Adrian tightened his grip. "You're not gone. I won't let them take you." But even as he spoke, his chest burned, the vessel's power surging uncontrollably, pulling at his mind, threatening to spill outward into the already fractured city.
Kael stood a few paces away, blood streaked across his white garments, swords vibrating faintly as if resonating with the city's instability. The Devil watched him from above, perched on a building that no longer had a proper foundation. His presence was oppressive, a black void of expectation and challenge.
"You've grown," the Devil said casually, almost fondly, "but you still cling to them. To your anchors. Tell me, Kael… what happens when your anchor snaps?"
Kael's swords glowed, every movement precise, deliberate. "Then I fight anyway."
Crysmal flapped its massive wings, stirring gusts that bent reality in chaotic ripples. The dragon's voice trembled, half-roar, half-whimper: "I… I can't stop it… everything's… everywhere…" Each beat of its wings amplified fractures in time, sometimes creating safe pockets, sometimes opening new phobia-monster rifts.
From the shadows of a twisted street, Lucien appeared again, eyes alight with cruel amusement. Beside him, Ash sharpened his crystallized blades with an almost ritualistic calm. Morwen hovered above, Autumn cult robes flaring unnaturally, chanting in time with the Red Moon's pulse.
Adrian's mind reeled. The Red Moon whispered incessantly, tugging at memories, desires, and fears. Every time he reached for power, the city's fractures pulsed violently, threatening to engulf him. And yet, he knew he couldn't hesitate. Elira depended on him, and every second she spent recovering from the ritual was a second closer to permanent loss.
"Adrian," Kael shouted over the rising chaos. "You need to stabilize your vessel! Focus on your anchor!"
Adrian exhaled sharply, forcing the lust-driven energy inward, drawing it into controlled bursts. Crimson shards formed around him, striking phobia-monsters, disrupting illusions, and temporarily stabilizing the warped streets beneath their feet. But each strike drained him, leaving him dizzy, limbs trembling.
A sudden flash of movement—the Devil attacked. Time fractured violently around Kael as his father's strike hit with impossible speed, slicing through multiple moments at once. Kael barely parried, staggering backward, one sword vibrating against the force of the attack.
"Kael!" Adrian shouted, releasing another wave of vessel energy to intercept a cluster of phobia-monsters. Crysmal's wings beat frantically, generating chaotic gusts that sent enemies sprawling—but also destabilized the very ground Kael was fighting on.
Elira's trembling form caught Adrian's attention. Her hands glowed faintly, unstable temporal energy leaking from her, threatening to tear her from the present entirely. "I… I can help," she said, voice weak but determined. "If I merge a fraction of my time magic with your vessel, we… we can hold them off—but it'll hurt."
Adrian's heart raced. "Do it. I don't care what it costs. We can't lose you again."
Elira closed her eyes and extended her hands. A silver light intertwined with Adrian's crimson vessel energy, forming a fragile lattice of temporal and lust-driven power. The air vibrated, buildings quivering, rivers stuttering in their unnatural flow. For a moment, a bubble of relative stability formed around them, pushing back phobia-monsters and temporal distortions alike.
Lucien hissed, his fingers clenching. "So naive… relying on each other will be your undoing." He lunged, aiming at Adrian's mind, whispering doubts: You can't protect her. Kael will fail. The Red Moon is infinite.
Ash struck from the side, a crystallized blade catching the new energy bubble, shattering part of it. The fracture sent Adrian flying, but he landed, barely holding onto the lattice of power binding him to Elira.
Morwen's chant intensified, folding the battlefield into a loop. For every step forward, they seemed to be pulled back, their progress nullified by the Autumn Cult's temporal trickery. The Red Moon above pulsed in resonance with the chant, crimson light suffusing the city like a tide ready to drown them.
Kael gritted his teeth, fighting the Devil with every ounce of skill and will. "You will not break us," he roared. With a surge of energy, he parried a strike that would have killed him in a normal timeline, his anchor holding firm even as the world unraveled.
Crysmal screamed in terror and frustration, wings flaring. The dragon's emotional energy collided with the lattice, stabilizing it momentarily, then causing a violent spike that threw Ash and Lucien off balance. The Red Moon hissed, recoiling at the unexpected interference.
Adrian looked at Elira. She was pale, trembling, her magic burning through her body. "We can't hold it forever," she whispered.
He clenched his jaw, voice steady despite exhaustion. "Then we don't. We break through. Together."
With a surge, Adrian and Elira pushed their combined power outward. Crimson and silver light tore through the fractured streets, disintegrating phobia-monsters, breaking temporal loops, and scattering Morwen's cultists. Lucien and Ash retreated, snarling. The lattice held—fragile, flickering, but alive.
The Devil observed, expression unreadable. "Impressive… but not enough." He vanished in a blink, leaving Kael momentarily alone on the battlefield, battered but unbroken.
Kael sheathed his swords and ran to Adrian and Elira, who collapsed into each other, exhausted but alive. Crysmal landed heavily beside them, wings folding, body trembling from the exertion.
Adrian touched Elira's forehead gently. "You're okay… we did it."
Elira leaned into him, faintly smiling. "For now… but the Red Moon… it's not done. Time itself… it will strike again."
Above them, the Red Moon pulsed, crimson and sentient, looming as a reminder of the battles yet to come. The city was fractured, bleeding, and dangerous—but for this moment, the anchors held.
Kael placed a hand on Adrian's shoulder. "We survived today, but the Red Moon has only begun its games. We need allies, strategy, and strength. The next collapse… it will be worse."
Adrian nodded, chest still burning from the vessel's exertion. "Then we rise. Together. Always."
And somewhere in the shadows, Lucien, Ash, and Morwen plotted, the echoes of their frustration mixing with the Red Moon's sinister whispers.
The city waited. Time waited. The Red Moon waited.