Blue light still shimmered faintly along Sebastian’s arms, flickering like dying embers struggling to hold their heat against a cooling wind. The Core Resonance—his unexpected boon—had granted him a single, decisive shot, but its strength was ebbing rapidly. He could feel it fading, the power receding like a tide pulling away from the shore, leaving behind only the hollow ache of exhaustion.

Across the shattered hall, the Queen beneath the ash slowly straightened, the arrow still embedded deep in her chest. The thick crust of ash cracked and flaked away, revealing bronzed skin beneath—a brief, haunting glimpse of the woman concealed beneath that smoky veil. Her eyes burned brighter now, fierce and furious, undiminished by the wound and full of a dark, ancient power that seemed to ripple in the air around her.

Nick stepped forward without hesitation, slipping into a defensive stance just ahead of Sebastian. The tiny bow strapped across his back was half-drawn, his small dagger catching what little light remained, its blade gleaming sharp and ready.
“Got any more miracles left, Seb?” he muttered without looking back, his voice edged with grim determination, a thin thread of hope woven through his words.

“Only fumes,” Sebastian answered, the blue glow already dimming along his fingertips. The exhaustion hit him like a wave, heavy and crushing, threatening to drag him under completely. His breaths came shallow, ragged, but he forced himself to stand tall, to keep fighting.

The Queen raised a hand slowly, deliberately. Ash rose from the floor, twisting and spiraling upward, gathering into a whirling crown of jagged knives poised above her head like a deadly halo. The swirling ash seemed to pulse with malice, each shard razor sharp and hungry for blood. With a cruel flick of her wrist, she sent the blades raining down like falling stars, sharp and swift, cutting through the stale air with a whispering hiss.

Sebastian dropped to the side, rolling hard and landing roughly on his injured flank. Pain flared sharply through his ribs, but he forced himself up despite the ache. Nick darted beneath the deadly storm, loosing arrows in rapid pairs—one to shatter the falling shards, another to harry the Queen’s advance. Sparks and cinders burst in every direction, the air thick with dust and acrid smoke that stung Sebastian’s burning eyes.

The bow felt twice as heavy in Sebastian’s hands now, as though the Core’s energy had been the only thing keeping it light. His muscles trembled under the weight, the strain threatening to buckle his limbs. But one arrow remained in his quiver—his last—fletched with a single white feather, pristine and oddly pure amid the ruin. No trace of the blue fire lingered on the shaft; the Core’s power had faded to a faint hum at the base of his skull.

One more shot. Ordinary, unenhanced. That was all he had left.

He nocked the arrow with trembling fingers, drew the string back, and took careful aim at the same wound he’d opened moments before. His arms shook with fatigue, but he held steady, forcing every ounce of concentration into the shot. The Queen’s sharp eyes locked on him, and she raised her palm to strike—

Nick let out a raw, fierce roar—a sound half growl, half battle cry—and sprang forward, launching himself straight toward the Queen’s face. His dagger flashed, scoring a bright, angry line across her cheek. For a brief, crucial heartbeat, her concentration faltered; the swirling ash wavered uncertainly at her command.

Seizing the moment, Sebastian loosed his arrow.

The shaft flew true, embedding itself beside the first. A hollow crack echoed through the hall as the twin arrows struck deep, connecting with something solid beneath the ash—bone, or perhaps the core of the strange magic that animated her.

The storm of ash collapsed instantly, spilling in thick black sheets across the stone floor. The Queen staggered a second time, and this time dropped to one knee, hands clawing desperately at the shafts embedded in her chest. Fury and pain twisted her features into a mask of rage.

Sebastian sagged, bow slipping from his grasp. The last filament of blue light flickered once, then guttered out like a dying flame.

But the Queen—still cloaked faintly in her ember glow—was far from finished. Ash pooled around her like spilled ink, then surged outward in a dark, rolling wave.

Nick was flung aside violently, skidding across the hard stone. Sebastian braced for impact, but the wave parted around him, as though some invisible force repelled it. The echo of the Core’s power? A deeper, unseen protection? He could only guess.

She rose again, encased within the swirling plume, her gaze locking coldly on Sebastian.
“You do not understand what you stir,” she warned, voice layered with human menace and crackling ember. “The ash remembers. And it is patient.”

Before he could answer, the ash folded inward, cocooning her completely. Wind howled through the broken arches, scattering dust and debris in blinding gusts. When the air finally cleared, the Queen was gone—leaving behind only two white-fletched arrows clattering softly to the floor and a scorched circle where she had stood moments before.

Silence settled again, heavy and humming with latent power.

Nick limped across the debris, one ear singed, whiskers twitching with unease.
“Did we win?” he asked, voice rough but laced with hope, though doubt lingered like a shadow.

Sebastian knelt slowly, fingers brushing the scorched stone. It was warm beneath his touch, pulsing faintly—as if echoing a heartbeat from some ancient source buried deep beneath the ruin. The sensation was unnerving and oddly comforting all at once.

A hollow boom echoed from far below, distant but unmistakable—like heavy doors swinging open in a long-forgotten vault. The floor vibrated faintly beneath their feet, dust drifting down from the cracked rafters overhead. The ruined hall seemed to hold its breath in that moment, the silence thick with anticipation and unseen dangers.

Nick flicked his tail sharply. “That doesn’t sound friendly.”

Sebastian rose slowly, weariness melting away, replaced by a surge of curiosity and dread.
He didn’t know what waited below, but he knew without doubt it was waiting for him.

The battle had not ended; it was only changing its shape. And somewhere deep beneath the ash and ruin, a new challenge awaited—one that Sebastian could no longer put off.