12 : Rift sealing

Daniel weaved between broken streetlamps and smoking debris, breath ragged, cursing under it.

"Stupid plan—stupid, stupid—"

The demon burst from the shattered entrance of the research facility like a storm given flesh. It wore Xae's body like a cloak—threads spiraling from his spine, writhing through the air like marionette strings, each one anchoring to a hollowed-out civilian.

Hundreds of them. A choir of vessels. All bound.

Daniel had hoped to bait it toward the rift. But it didn't even glance at him.

It turned—

Toward the Gravehowl.

"No—shit, no!" Daniel spun, sprinting. But before he could even shout a warning, the driver and Forn dove from the vehicle—Forn mid-scream, vision-struck.

"GET OUT!"

A second later, the vessels crashed down—swarming the transport, drowning it in shrieks and limbs. The screams were brief. The aftermath worse.

The bodies didn't stay dead. They were taken. Emptied. Reused.

And then the demon paused.

Tilted Xae's head. Slowly.

Spiders flooding beneath his feet.

And looked straight at him.

Daniel froze. That smile—cold and wrong—spread across his borrowed face.

Then it moved.

Daniel's pulse roared in his ears.

Too smart.

It's too smart. It's not going to follow.

But he ran anyway.

Toward the skyscraper. Toward the trap.

Because even if it didn't work—

Someone had to try.

The cruel truth of the world was simple:

Humans weren't meant to fight demons.

Not without something broken in them.

Daniel had learned that.

The squad had learned that.

Too late.

---

He reached the skyscraper's base, lungs burning. The demon followed—but halted just outside the elevator shaft.

Of course.

It was learning.

Daniel turned, jaw tight, and called up to the thing in Xae's skin.

"Pretty bastard, aren't you?"

The demon twitched—raised one pale hand. A black-red orb bloomed in its palm like coagulated hate.

It hurled it.

Daniel crossed both daggers. Resonance sparked as he caught the orb midair, muscles straining and redirected it.

It struck the floor behind him with a thunderclap

And the concrete gave way beneath them.

They fell.

***

Malakai and Mattethis froze, eyes wide as they stared at Neo — or what was left of him. Threads writhed like smoke from his skin, and something ancient stirred behind his eyes.

A breath caught in Malakai's throat.

Then the demon moved.

They ran. Darting between broken pillars and crawling vessels, evading claws and puppeteered limbs — but it wasn't enough. The numbers were too much.

One of the vessels brushed Malakai's arm.

Threads exploded outward, spiraling toward his chest — but Velnix surged forth, a flicker of instinct and fury. Blades of light snapped the threads mid-air, and with a violent shove, Malakai was thrown clear.

Mattethis turned, about to call out—when the ceiling gave way with a roar.

Daniel and a possessed Xae crashed through in a storm of debris. The impact knocked a steel beam loose, burying Mattethis in a whirlwind of dust and debris

He shook it off and took a defensive stance.

His ability was useless in such a confined space but only when noticed.

Daniel hit the ground hard — directly onto a vessel. He didn't get back up.

And just like that, Malakai and Mattethis were alone.

The demon landed hard beside the rift — Xae's body trembling with every twitch of its stolen limbs. This was their only chance.

Mattethis didn't hesitate. He surged forward, a blur of motion aimed straight at Xae. But a dark orb spiraled from the demon's palm, crashing into him mid-step and launching him into the far wall.

Malakai flinched. "Mattethis!"

Without thinking, he shouted the order: "Velnix—heal him!"

The guardian shot forward, smoke and light trailing behind. It reached Mattethis in a blink, absorbing the searing pain from his shattered ribs. A moment later, Velnix compressed the pain into a glowing orb — and hurled it back at the demon.

It struck Xae's chest with a horrible sound. The demon staggered, black ichor spilling from the wound. A grim crack split across his ribs.

Malakai, now without protection, stumbled backward. Threads lashed toward him. He ducked, dodged, ran — but it wasn't enough. One scraped across his cheek. Another wrapped around his wrist—

Then Velnix returned.

Malakai fell to one knee, gasping for breath. Blood dripped down his face, his vision spinning.

But Velnix didn't hesitate.

Understanding what had to be done, the guardian split — its smoky form cleaving in two. One half lunged at the demon, slamming into Xae and dragging him toward the rift. The other hovered over Malakai, shielding him as threads and shrieks swarmed from all directions.

Malakai reached for the Rift Sealer with shaking hands.

He didn't speak. He didn't breathe. He simply sealed.

The device flared — light swallowing the basement — and the rift closed in on itself with a thunderous snap.

Every thread tethered to the demon ripped in unison.

A second of silence.

Then — screaming.

Hundreds of cries filled the chamber. Sobbing, wailing, begging — the sound of awakening. The vessels, now freed, collapsed one by one, clutching their heads as memory returned like fire. Neo was among them, his hands trembling as the threads faded from his spine.

Malakai collapsed backward.

The world tilted. Cold concrete met his back. His heartbeat thundered in his ears.

He didn't get up.

He just lay there — eyes to the flickering lights above, breath shallow, body broken.

But the rift was closed.

And for now…

They had won.