40.The inversion

The air reeked of gunpowder, thick with a sharp, chemical sting.

Lila barely felt the bruises forming on her skin as she and Rowan pushed through the crumbling remnants of Carlos's last enforcers. The once mundane halls of the multi-level apartment were riddled with bullet holes, walls peeling.

Eri moved ahead of them, several of her flower's petals falling causing her to stumble. She fought through the instant nausea. She could feel it—the pulse of something dark and powerful just beyond the next hall.

Mephisto.

"They're close," she muttered, adjusting her stance.

Rowan exhaled sharply, shifting her broken spear in her grip. "Good. Horror is really not my thing we really have to get out of here."

One of Carlos's stragglers leaped from the corner, gun raised—Rowan didn't hesitate. She ducked low, sweeping his legs from beneath him before driving the tip of her spear into his throat.

Eri followed up, catching another enforcer mid-swing. Her roots lashed out, snapping around his limbs, pulling him off his feet before crushing him against the wall.

Lila didn't stop moving.

She couldn't.

Aiden was ahead. She could feel it.

She barreled through the last door protecting her belly, the weight of the battle forgotten the moment her eyes landed on him.

Aiden.

He was covered in blood.

Her legs carried her before she even realized she was running, dropping to her knees beside him.

"Aiden!" Her hands fumbled, turning him over, her heart hammering against her ribs.

He didn't respond.

His face was pale, his breaths shallow, his body limp.

But—

The wound that had been in his chest was gone.

There was no gash, no bloodied hole visible through his shirt where the knife had pierced him.

Instead—

A dimly glowing orb rested in his palm. Faint. Flickering.

Her breath finally set free as the tension bled away from her limbs left.

Behind them, Mephisto knelt, leaning heavily on his cane, trying—and failing—to rise to his feet. The weight of exhaustion pressed against him, but still, his body moved out of sheer force of will.

Even now—he still bowed.

His red eyes flickered to Lila's, his smirk weak but unwavering.

"Welcome back, my lady," he murmured, voice rasping but laced with something almost reverent.

Lila barely processed it.

Because behind him—

Garrison lay still.

Lifeless.

His eyes open but empty staring into the void.

Rowan froze.

Her chest tightened as she rushed to him, skidding to her knees, hands trembling as she grabbed at his jacket.

"Garrison—hey, come on, David, don't do this," she whispered, shaking him. His skin was already cold.

Her voice cracked.

"Stop, he's dead...," Eri mouthed, but no words came out. She stood rigid beside her, her hands curling into fists before she turned away. Her breath was unsteady.

Something moved in the corner.

A shadow.

The cat.

Its oily black fur on end, but it wasn't alone. Wrapped around its neck was the dead snake—now revived and much smaller, its eyes hollow and unblinking.

But they didn't go to Eri.

They slinked past her—toward Lila.

Then—

Aiden gasped.

The sound was sharp. Panic-laced. Raw.

His body jerked upright, his eyes wide, his breath coming in short, ragged gasps.

He clutched at his chest—searching for the wound that was no longer there.

His head snapped to Mephisto, to Lila, to Rowan, to the blood on the ground. Then—to Garrison.

Aiden's eyes shot back and forth. His mind lost and confused

His hands shook as he turned to Mephisto, voice barely above a whisper.

"What… happened?"

Mephisto exhaled. He did not answer right away.

Then—softly, solemnly—

"You survived. Miraculous, really."

Aiden blinked, disoriented. "Who the hell are you?"

His eyes turned toward the body on the ground.

He shouldn't have.

Garrison was dead. Marisol was no where to be seen. But he was still breathing. His pulse still beat.

But the weight in his hand—

He looked down.

The glowing orb.

Dim. Weak.

A Guardian's gift. Normally given by Sylva.

But this…

Something wasn't right about this one.

Mephisto straightened as much as his battered form allowed. "My little renegade took Marisol," he stated. "And somehow… she preformed a mircle by rewinding this for you."

Aiden's fingers gripped around the orb, his jaw tightening.

"It's… empty," he murmured.

"Not empty," Eri corrected. "Hollow. It lacks its core."

Silence.

Then—Lila stepped forward.

Her gaze locked onto the orb.

"What if we fix it?"

Aiden lifted his eyes. "What?"

"That is a Splendid Idea." Mephisto's voice was brimming with excitement. His smirk twitched upward. "We would just need to form a little blood pact."

He twirled his cane, shifting his weight onto it. "Normally, Sylva would be the one to ignite the Guardian's gift… but she is not here. However—" his eyes flickered toward Lila "—we have a piece of slyva right here."

Lila shot him a look.

"The Core's taint lingers in you as well," Mephisto continued. " which connects your power to our dear Eri here—" he gestured to her "—and luckily Eri carries the same roots as Marisol."

Aiden's head was still throbbing. "I'm not following.."

Mephisto's grin widened. "Perhaps, through them everything comes full circle so… the orb can be restored."

Eri hesitated, glancing toward Lila.

Rowan wiped at her face, voice hoarse. "You really think this'll work?"

Mephisto tapped his cane. "A Guardian weapon is a reflection of its user. A pact is merely a blessing by our gods incarnate. So in theory yes it could rekindle its core."

Aiden's fingers curled around the orb.

He had no other option.

He had to be stronger.

He had to stop Carlos.

Rowan shifted her weight, gripping her broken spear with a slight tremor. She glanced at Aiden, then at Mephisto, then at the others. Her voice was hesitant, uncertain.

"I… I'm not sure about this," Rowan muttered, her eyes lingering on the orb in Aiden's hand, now dim and pulsing with faint light. "Darkness... I've never... used it before. It doesn't feel right." She winced at the thought, tightening her grip on her spear. "What if we lose ourselves? What if this is another trap like pheobe..."

Aiden looked at her, his face serious, but softened by understanding. He stepped closer, looking down at the orb in his hand, as if seeing something beyond its physical form.

"I get it," Aiden said quietly, his voice more grounded now, more familiar. "I was scared once too, when I first merged the two together. I didn't know what I was doing, and I thought it would consume me." He paused, glancing at the others, especially at Rowan. "But what I learned—what I had to understand—is that darkness doesn't have to be the Core's darkness. It's not a force that controls you. You choose what it becomes."

Mephisto piped up gleefully, his eyes practically dancing with the idea. "Exactly! The world is full of answers, Rowan. You can take the very thing that once held you back, and shape it to your will. That's the power of balance—of both light and dark. Together, they provide answers for everything."

Lila, standing quietly, glanced up at Rowan, her gaze serious but supportive. "Aiden's right the Core is gone. darkness doesn't have to be corruption. It's the same way when using the light right?"

Rowan's gaze shifted to Eri, who had remained silent, her eyes focused on the remnants of her flower, watching as the petals continued to fall one by one.

"I watched someone I loved turn into something unrecognizable. I won't do it again." Rowan said hesitantly. She turned back to Aiden, a flicker of uncertainty still in her eyes. "How can we trust this?"

Aiden paused, looking toward the group. He knew exactly what Rowan meant—the shadows of the past, of those who had tried to manipulate or control them. But this was different. He believed in them.

"I trust Marisol," Aiden replied, his voice unwavering. He glanced at Eri, offering a subtle nod—one that carried more weight than words ever could. "And I trust you, Eri."

Eri didn't speak, but her eyes met his, a silent acknowledgment.

Rowan hesitated for a moment longer, the weight of the decision still pulling at her, but something in Aiden's voice, the certainty in his eyes, made her take a slow, steady breath.

"…Okay. I'm in," Rowan said, her voice soft but resolute. She reached out, her hand trembling slightly, and placed it next to Aiden's, feeling the pulse of the orb beneath their palms.

Mephisto smiled widely, his cane tapping rhythmically on the floor. "Then let's make magic, shall we?"

Lila looked at Aiden—She saw the weight in his shoulders. The anger in his eyes. The loss.

And she placed her hand over his.

Rowan reached for Eri.

The polished bone of Mephisto's cane glowed—sickly and shifting, the remnants of a Cancer twisting into something new.

Lila exhaled, a strange weight pressing against her chest. Aiden clenched his fists, the orb pulsing erratically, its glow flickering like dying embers.

Rowan's breath hitched. The magic was cold. Coiling. Wrapping around her bones.

She swallowed hard—but she didn't pull away.

The shadows curled in. The light pulsed out.

Then—

They spoke.

Aiden and Rowan, together—

"We pledge our loyalty to darkness."

Eri and Lila—

"We accept."

The world held its breath.

A pulse erupted from the center.

A shockwave of heat and ice, of shadow and crimson, slammed outward, sending a deep tremor through the floor. The orb in Aiden's hand split open—then reformed.

And the pact was sealed.