Chapter 24: Bound by Shadows

The Storm Reaper heaved violently, caught between the chaotic pull of the artifact's power and the desperate efforts of Rosie at the helm. Smoke, steam, and an unnatural hum filled the air as Lucien dashed below deck, Selene and Marion close behind him.

The moment he hit the engine room, he stopped short.

The thing loomed in the dim light—a shifting, spectral mass, flickering between forms as if it couldn't decide what it wanted to be. Its tendrils pulsed outward, barely contained by the energy crackling from the artifact at its center.

Evelyn stood frozen, one hand gripping the console, her face pale but defiant. Victoria had positioned herself in front of her, her mechanical fingers flexing in a defensive stance.

The entity turned toward Lucien.

"Ah… the thief."

Lucien ignored the cold dread crawling up his spine. "Yeah, that's me. And you are…?"

The voice layered over itself in laughter.

"A prisoner. A god. A mistake. Take your pick."

Selene flicked a knife from her belt. "I vote mistake."

The entity pulsed, its shifting mass surging forward slightly. "So quick to fight, little assassin. But you have already lost. The moment you opened my cage, the world began to change."

Lucien shot Evelyn a glance. "Tell me we have a way to fix this."

She hesitated. "…Define 'fix.'"

"Something that doesn't involve being eaten by a shadow monster?"

Evelyn's eyes darted to the artifact, its crystalline structure flickering between red and black. "It's not fully unsealed yet. We might be able to contain it—but I need time."

Lucien turned back to the entity. "Buy time. Got it." He sighed. "Okay, Tall, Dark, and Creepy—since you like riddles, let me ask one: Why haven't you just killed us yet?"

The shadows shifted.

"Because you… amuse me."

Lucien blinked. "Uh. Not the answer I was expecting."

"You are an anomaly. This world should not have carried my prison this far. And yet, here you stand, touching forces beyond your understanding."

Marion crossed her arms. "You say that like we're supposed to be impressed."

"No," the entity murmured, "you say that because you are afraid."

Marion flinched, but Lucien stepped forward, placing himself between her and the swirling darkness. "Alright, enough with the mind games. What do you want?"

The room seemed to tilt as the entity's form surged, almost as if it were smiling.

"To be free."

The lights flickered. The walls groaned. Victoria took a step forward, her golden eyes burning.

"Denied."

The entity laughed—a deep, hollow sound that sent a chill through everyone in the room.

"Then let us see who bends first…"

Above Deck: A Sky on Fire

Meanwhile, Rosie's knuckles were white against the controls. The Storm Reaper groaned in protest as she fought against the unnatural pull radiating from the artifact.

"Come on, baby, hold together," she muttered.

A streak of movement caught her eye.

Crowe's ship—The Red Jackal—wasn't retreating.

It was circling back.

Rosie swore. "You have to be kidding me."

A transmission crackled over the comms.

"Lucien, I don't know what in the hell you've done," Crowe's voice snarled, "but that thing you're toying with? It's worth more than all of us combined."

Rosie grabbed the receiver. "Oh, great. Now you want to negotiate?"

Crowe's voice was sharp. "Hand it over, and maybe I'll let you live."

Rosie laughed bitterly. "Yeah, sure. Lemme just—oh wait, NO." She slammed the controls forward, spinning the Storm Reaper just as cannon fire exploded past the hull.

Crowe wasn't bluffing.

Rosie gritted her teeth. "You wanna play dirty? Fine." She grabbed the ship's intercom.

"Hope you guys are almost done, 'cause we've got company!"

Below Deck: A Desperate Plan

Lucien flinched as the explosion rocked the ship. "What now?!"

Selene pressed her earpiece. "Crowe's attacking. Again."

Lucien ran a hand through his hair. "Because things weren't already complicated." He turned to Evelyn. "How much longer?"

Evelyn gritted her teeth. "Minutes. Maybe."

The entity chuckled.

"You will not hold me forever."

Lucien exhaled sharply. "No, but we can stall you."

He looked around, mind racing. The energy in the air. The way the artifact responded to proximity. And then—the engine coils.

A mad idea formed.

"Valeria," he said through the intercom, "I need an energy redirection from the core to the containment field. Can you do that?"

Valeria's voice crackled through. "You're asking me to reroute unstable energy into an already unstable system. Which sounds like my kind of fun, but also—why?"

"Because if we can't stop it," Lucien said, "we trap it inside the ship and take it somewhere else."

Silence.

Then Valeria laughed. "Ohh, now that's reckless. I love it. Give me five minutes!"

Selene stared at him. "You're going to carry a nightmare entity in your ship?"

Lucien shrugged. "Worked with worse."

Marion sighed. "This is the worst idea you've had."

Victoria tilted her head. "It is statistically in the top three."

Evelyn exhaled. "…Let's do it."

The shadows roiled, but Lucien turned back to the entity with a smirk.

"Guess you're coming with us, pal. Hope you like airships."

The entity paused. Then, to Lucien's shock, it laughed.

"Oh, little thief. You truly do amuse me."

The darkness swirled again, whispering like smoke.

"Very well. Let us see where the winds take us."