The shadow-beast stood half-formed on the bank, its outline melting and solidifying with every breath it took. Smoke curled off its limbs in slow, deliberate tendrils, like the creature hadn't fully realized it was in a new world yet.
But its eyes…
Those lantern-white eyes locked on Aria the second it sensed her heartbeat spike.
Serin sucked in a sharp breath. "No. No, no… this shouldn't be possible. The stream shouldn't allow anything corrupted to"
"It did," Rowan said, voice low, unreadable. "And that means something far worse than the beast crossed too."
Aria didn't hear anything else.
The beast took one step toward her, and her entire body recoiled, trembling so hard her teeth rattled. Her lungs seized up again. Realm air or not, fear made every breath thin and sharp.
Caelum moved instantly, stepping in front of her with a snarl that ripped through the forest. His wolf pressed close to the surface, his shoulders rising with every harsh inhale.
"You won't touch her," he growled.
The beast cocked its monstrous head, almost amused.
Rowan slammed the end of his staff into the ground. A ripple of pale blue light spread across the trees, crackling like frost forming. "Back up. Slowly. Do not provoke it."
Caelum didn't move an inch.
"It's already provoked," he said. "It followed her."
Aria felt sick. "I… I didn't mean to bring anything through. I didn't even open the stream, he pushed me"
"Aria," Rowan snapped sharply, "listen to me and nothing else. The beast isn't whole. It's weakened from crossing planes. If there ever was a time to strike, this is it."
Serin tugged at Rowan's arm. "Are you insane? She just escaped that place, you want her to fight again?"
"I want her to survive," Rowan said without turning. "And if we run, it will chase her until dawn."
The beast lowered itself, tendons made of shadow stretching, ready to pounce.
Serin moved before anyone could stop her.
Light burst from her palms, not bright, not violent, but precise. It sliced through the air and struck the ground between Aria and the creature. The earth glowed, forming a barrier made of runes that hummed with a haunting, ancient resonance.
"Move," Serin hissed over her shoulder, her voice trembling but fierce. "Now."
Rowan's head snapped toward her. "You used the fracture-sign without stabilizing it. If you miscalculate"
"I didn't," Serin said through gritted teeth. "Just do your part."
She wasn't translucent now. She wasn't fading. She stood solid, real, the moonlight catching her silver hair as sweat slid down her jaw.
Aria stared at her.
Serin wasn't afraid.
Or maybe she was, but she refused to let it stop her.
"Aria." Rowan's voice dropped, heavy and calm. "The beast crossed because you did. Only you can erase its anchor."
"My what?"
He pointed at the faint gold threads still clinging to her arms, remnants of the ancestor's power. "Those. As long as the Realm touches you, it touches here."
Aria's stomach twisted. "I didn't ask for this."
"No one ever does." Rowan didn't soften. "But choice isn't a luxury anymore."
The beast slammed into Serin's barrier.
The runes flickered.
Cracked.
Serin gasped, dropping to one knee. "Hurry!"
Caelum grabbed Aria's face with both hands, forcing her to meet his eyes. His forehead nearly touched hers as his breathing synced with hers, steady, grounding.
"Aria. Look at me."
She tried, but tears blurred everything.
"You are here," Caelum said firmly. "With me. With Rowan. With Serin. Not with him. Do you understand?"
A sob broke from her throat. "I'm scared."
"So am I." His voice cracked. "But I'm more scared of losing you."
The barrier shattered.
The beast lunged.
Aria's wolf surged forward, burning through her fear like a blade tearing through silk.
Her vision tinted gold.
Power rushed into her fingers, raw, wild, shaking.
She threw her hands forward at the same time the beast reached them.
The impact detonated like a thunderclap.
Light and shadow exploded outward. Trees bent, leaves ripped from branches, ground split in jagged cracks. Aria stumbled back into Caelum's chest as the force tore through her body.
Rowan shielded Serin with a burst of white fire.
The beast screeched, an angry, wounded sound, its form warping, flickering like a dying star.
Aria felt something tug inside her.
Something dark.
Something that wasn't her.
She gritted her teeth, pushing against it.
"No," she gasped. "You don't get to follow me here."
The gold light in her hands flared, blinding.
The beast buckled, its ribs collapsing inward as if crushed by invisible fists.
Another surge.
Aria screamed as she pushed harder, the shadow-tether connecting her to the Realm snapping strand by strand.
The beast lunged one last time.
And disintegrated into ash and smoke.
Silence fell.
Aria collapsed to her knees, body shaking uncontrollably. Caelum caught her before she hit the ground, holding her against his chest.
"It's done," he whispered into her hair. "It's done, little star."
Rowan stepped closer, inspecting the fading ash. His expression tightened.
"No," he murmured. "It isn't."
Serin stood slowly, wiping blood from her nose. "What now?"
Rowan looked at Aria.
Not with anger.
Not even suspicion.
But with something heavier.
"The beast didn't come through alone," Rowan said quietly. "Something else rode its shadow."
Aria's heart stopped.
Caelum's grip tightened around her.
"What are you saying?" he asked.
Rowan stooped, brushing his fingers through the remaining ash.
It moved.
Not from the wind.
But from something crawling beneath it.
A faint whisper rippled through the clearing, Malachi's voice, thin but unmistakably real.
"Found you again."
The ash burst upward, swirling into the trees, disappearing.
Aria's blood ran cold.
She barely managed to whisper, "H-how much of him crossed?"
Rowan looked up, staff glowing faintly, jaw set like stone.
"Enough," he said, "that none of us are safe anymore."
And enough that he can reach you… even here."