The first impact came a heartbeat after Ceres spoke.
The creatures lunged forward as the barrier shuddered once more. Ceres didn't move, staying calm but visibly distressed.
"Is anyone a Stage Two?" his voice cut through the chaos, sharp, commanding. "Anyone who can fight, now's the time!"
The survivors froze. Civilians, merchants, soldiers stripped of rank and composure alike. A man near the wall clutched a child; another tried to reload a rune pistol that refused to ignite.
Ceres's teeth clenched. "Figures."
Alain's gaze caught on the aisle, two fallen soldiers slumped against the wall, their armor scorched black. One still clutched a short sword; the other, a side dagger, both half-melted at the edge.
He hesitated only a moment before kneeling. The hilts were hot to the touch, metal warped and unbalanced, but they fit into his palms like something he already understood.
Lia's breath caught. "Alain—"
"I've held steel my whole life," he said quietly, testing the weight. "Guess it's my turn to use it."
Outside, something slammed into the barrier again. Gold light fractured across his face like a web.
The fire rune beneath his skin pulsed once, subtle, but alive.
Ceres glanced over, surprise flickering in his eyes. "You're either brave or stupid."
"Hopefully both."
A crack spidered across the dome. The air hummed, thick with heat.
"Then keep them close," Ceres said. "Because when this breaks—"
The world answered for him.
The barrier shattered, dome splintering like glass.
The remaining debris above their head started falling, unable to keep its form.
Ceres knelt and placed his palm onto the floor as golden sigils erupted once more, holding the debris. However, he was late.
Something stepped through the gap.
It crawled first...half human, half ruin. Limbs bent the wrong way, skin split where light leaked through like molten cracks. Its movements were slow, deliberate, as if remembering what a body was supposed to do.
Lia froze. "What—"
"Stay behind me."
Alain raised the salvaged blades.
The creature hissed, head tilting at the sound of metal.
Then it lunged.
Alain met it halfway. Sparks burst where steel struck corrupted flesh. The thing was fast, unnaturally so. Each blow rattled his bones, his grip slipping from the impact.
"Left!" Lia shouted.
ᛏ — Tiwaz (Cut)
An arc of water surged from her hand, striking the creature mid–step, slowing its motion but not stopping it.
Alain swung again, both blades flashing in the mist. The impact sounded wrong, like striking stone wrapped in flesh.
The creature's arm lashed out. Alain barely registered the movement before it caught him across the chest.
The world spun.
He hit the wall hard enough to crack it, air ripping from his lungs.
"Alain!"
He tried to rise, but pain flared white-hot across his ribs. His hand trembled against the floor, blood slicking his palm.
The creature turned toward Lia, its joints cracking as it twisted back upright.
Alain gasped, trying to move, but his body refused. The thing lunged.
Lia barely drew a sigil in time. ᛉ — Algiz (Guard)
Water folded outward in a rush, turning into ice. Forming a barrier between her and the creature. The impact came a heartbeat later.
BOOM.
He reached out again, his palm brushing the fallen sword's hilt.
"Please," he whispered, his voice breaking. "Not her."
The dome rippled. Cracks spidered across the shield's surface, but it held, barely.
Lia stumbled back, palms outstretched, breath ragged. The sound dulled in Alain's ears, replaced by a low hum that pulsed through the air like a heartbeat.
Everything slowed.
The train dissolved into firelight, into memory.
He stood ankle-deep in a pit of fire, but weirdly it didn't hurt him. It felt like the inside of a heartbeat.
A woman waited by the fading sky. Dark hair, calm eyes, a faint rune gleaming on her hand.
"You always try to carry everything alone,"
He blinked. "…What?"
She smiled faintly, tilting her head.
"Ha. You're just like me."
He didn't know her, but it felt familiar. Like a memory he had forgotten from time.
"I don't—I don't know you," he said, taking a step forward. "But please… please help me."
He looked down at his trembling hands. "She's going to die. I can't— I can't lose her."
The woman's expression softened.
"Lose?" she echoed, almost amused. "You're asking the wrong thing."
His throat tightened. "Then tell me how to save her. Anything. Please."
For a moment, the woman said nothing. Then she chuckled softly, almost sadly.
"You already have it."
His right hand felt like it was on fire. Lifting it, he saw the mark.
ᚷ—Gebo
Confused, he looked up, only to realize that the mark on her hand was the same one.
The light between their hands pulsed once, steady and alive.
Her smile softened.
"It means Exchange, kind of."
Alain frowned, his voice cracking. "Exchange? What am I giving for this power?"
She laughed quietly, like someone who already knew the ending. The sound was warm, almost kind, but threaded with something he couldn't name.
"Something you've been giving away your whole life. You just never noticed."
He blinked. "And if I run out?".
Her eyes glimmered. For a moment, she almost looked human. Tired, amused, unbearably sad.
"You won't. That's the curse of people like us."
Her expression softened, almost tender.
"Now go. Someone's waiting."
The warmth spread through his chest, steady and weightless.
She gave one last crooked smile as the light began to break around her.
"And don't worry… you'll understand what it really means someday."
She paused, her voice lowering to a whisper.
"Stay safe, Alain. I love you."
The figure dissolved into drifting motes of light. The world folded—then snapped back.
Alain's breath tore into him like air after drowning. Smoke. Heat. Screams. The scent of burning metal filled his lungs.
He was back.
Lia's barrier had failed. She was on the ground, coughing, one hand still faintly glowing blue. The creature crawled toward her through the debris, its jaw cracked open wider than it should have been, eyes blazing red through the haze.
Alain moved before his thoughts. His hand closed around the fallen sword beside him.
The metal hummed. The moment his fingers closed around the hilt, his Rune flared.
ᚷ — Gebo (Exchange)
He felt its presence as it crept from his right hand through his chest, threading warmth through every vein until it reached his left. The two halves of his body aligned, breath and heartbeat moving as one.
The warmth spreading through his core felt like energy made tangible. His legs coiled, muscles tightening, the world sharpening into focus.
< — Kenaz. (Fire)
The two runes resonated, the air vibrated. The Blighted raised its claws, ether hissing along its arm.
And Alain moved.
He didn't think. Didn't breathe. The world blurred, the floor cracking beneath his step.
One instant, he was there—
—the next, he wasn't.
He appeared right next to the Blighted, his dagger intercepting the attack, knocking the creature off-balance.
The Blighted staggered, its footing broken.
Alain didn't waste it.
He shifted his weight, eyes narrowing, his right hand tightening around the sword hilt. The rune on the back of his hand pulsed once.
Gebo, gold light coursing down his arm and into the steel, coating it.
"Kindle."
Flame burst along the sword's edge, clean and sharp. White-gold fire wrapped the blade in a thin, searing coat that shimmered with every heartbeat. The air hissed as heat bent around the weapon.
He swung.
The strike was precise, silent, one smooth arc that cut through the creature's chest before it could recover.
The white flame flared upon contact, bursting outward in a spiral of light. The Blighted convulsed, body disintegrating from the inside out, the fire eating through its corrupted form until only drifting ash remained.
Alain exhaled, lowering his sword. The flame still clung to the blade, burning steady, alive.
He immediately turned his head. Through the haze, he caught sight of her—Lia was still amidst the smoke, unconscious.