Cerus stood alone in the city square beneath the first light of dawn. Steel glinted in the alleyways where guards pressed inward, herding Erith’s group into the open.

There’s no other choice. Might as well…

Erith drew in a breath and pushed Kaida outward, searching for other threads. The jolt was immediate—sharp and deafening. Unfamiliar currents swirled chaotically around him, just as they had with Rhymera’s ornately crafted gem, impossible to trace to any source.

Erith pulled himself back, eyes locking on Cerus. The man hadn’t flinched. He stood attentively waiting for Erith’s response.

Can he not sense me feeling around for Kaida? Or does he not care?

Stepping forward, Erith’s voice steadied. “You’ve gone to a great deal of trouble—,” his hand swept toward the circling guards, “—just for us to talk. So, what is it you want?”

“I presume you’ve heard of King Veneroth’s Illuminary. You are from Aldarath, after all.”

Erith gave the smallest nod.

“The Illuminaries exist to press against the edges of the unknown,” Cerus said, his voice carrying a firm conviction. “Kaida. Mura. Murasi… and in these past years, the drought.”

The Soliri would have been harder for us to escape, but the same goes for Cerus… Did he choose this square because he wants his own way out?

“Rare as it may be, King Veneroth has long held that any who wield Kaida or Mura are welcomed into his Illuminary, no matter the circumstances that brought them such power.”

Erith’s eyes narrowed as Cerus drew closer, mirroring his every step.

“And what about the circumstances that brought us here?” Erith asked.

A grin crept over Cerus’s mouth. “Aldarath has torn threads before. Threads can be mended. The Illuminary is the King’s most esteemed council.”

He lifted a hand toward the others behind Erith. “There would be no need to run, no need to hide. Instead, you could embrace what you are. Teach others. Live not in fear, but in comfort—with your friends by your side, of course.”

Erith shifted a few steps to the side, widening the space between himself and the others. He feigned a thoughtful expression as he pressed outward with his Kaida, probing.

Silence struck Erith. The chaotic ring from before had vanished.

Cerus must not be carrying that gem…

“And what exactly would I teach?” Erith’s tone had softened, almost curious, though his feet kept stepping along.

“Modesty,” Cerus said, weighing Erith’s question. “Noble… or perhaps clever. Either way, there is no doubt you would bring much to our council, possibly lead us closer to unraveling the drought. I’m certain it has touched you. And the Murasi…”

Cerus’s mouth curved into a grimace. “Never has their threat been clearer. Together, we might alter the path of this world.

Sharp and sudden, the deafening noise tore back into Erith’s mind.

Another gem.

He kept walking, then veered, drifting back toward the square’s center. There it was—a pocket of stillness, a gap between the two opposing Kaida barriers, with a direct line to Cerus.

Erith stepped into it, and as he did, Cerus’s eyes lit with the faintest glimmer of recognition.

“I have spent my life studying Murasi, Erith. They are drawn to Kaida barriers. They press against them, test their edges…”

Cerus’s voice lowered, his eyes fixed on Erith with unnerving certainty. “And so do you.”

He took a single step closer to Erith. “I will ask one final time. Come willingly—with your friends at your side. Or come unwillingly. Alone. Filled with regret.”

Erith glanced toward his friends circling closely together in the square, keeping their attention on the guards near them in the alleyway.

Thatch’s words echoed in his mind.

Some may not just see you as a weapon. Some may see you as an answer to their faith… A prophecy.

And faith like that… Faith can make people do terrible things.

Erith’s resolve hardened. He drew a breath.

And in that heartbeat, Cerus understood.

“Take the others!” Cerus’s voice boomed.

As the guards surged, Cerus’s hand swept upward, and the air split with a shadow. A great crescent of Mura tore across the square straight at Erith.

There was barely a second to react. Erith thrust Kaida forward and met the Mura colliding in a blinding surge of white light. The crescent dissolved into ragged black smoke that curled around him.

Blades in hand, Rin and Tal stood their ground as Maeric yanked Amun back, pulling him closer to Erith’s side.

Erith’s focus snapped to see guards advancing toward Rin and Tal—

—and in that sliver of distraction, four smaller bolts of Mura hissed through the air.

He met the bolts with a flare of Kaida, scattering them into shards of light.

Without hesitation, Erith swept one arm back, and the other forward at Cerus. Twin arcs of monstrous shadow burst from him, the Mura rippling across the square in both directions.

The first struck like a storm unleashed, colliding in a blinding flash a few feet before him. The impact flung him backward, skidding several feet across the square.

The second carved through the square behind Erith, leaving a jagged scar across the cobblestones, and finally colliding in a blinding flash into Saryn’s house at the square’s edge, shearing the outer wall apart.

Massive chunks of stone, as if weightless, were flung into the street beyond. Guards near the alleyway vanished in the rubble.

A dense plume of dust followed, rolling outward into the square.

For a moment, all stood frozen—paralyzed by the chaos Erith had unleashed.

Erith broke the silence, sprinting toward his friends, pointing to the shattered ruin.

“Run for the boat—now!”

The group’s attention snapped back, and they surged toward the haze, breaking into a sprint.

“Don’t wait for me. Just go!” Erith called out.

A bolt of shadow cut through the dust. Erith dove in front of Amun.

He braced himself with Kaida, and the clash of the energies sent Erith hurling into Amun. They hit the stone hard. Erith clambered upright, dragging Amun with him.

Through the swirling haze, a figure emerged. Cerus strode closer, followed by guards flanking each side of him.

Erith lifted Amun to his feet and sprinted to catch the others, who were already climbing through the wreckage, but Cerus and the guards were closing in.

They only want me.

Erith’s jaw clenched. “Alright. Stick with me Moons, we’re splitting from them.”

He grabbed Amun’s arm, veering away from the others. Together, they bolted toward the square’s Kaida container—a massive cylinder of thick green glass topped with a mechanical valve that jutted from the side of the Kaida guardhouse where one of the city’s barriers was drawn and regulated.

Behind them, Cerus roared, though the words blurred in the chaos. A bolt of Mura hissed past their shoulders, striking the barrier container’s outer shell.

He wouldn’t risk that…

Erith looked over his shoulder, just as Cerus had halted. The guards pressed forward, closing the gap around them.

Another bolt hissed over their heads, striking the container again.

Erith spun around, his eyes widening

With the single moment he had, he lashed a wisp of Mura at Amun. The force hurled him into the alley beside the container.

Then it struck. A massive bolt, shaped like a spear, slammed past Erith—not into him, but into the Kaida container.

The square was met with a shattering roar, and the container ruptured with a gaping hole torn through its front.

The invisible, raw Kaida bled from the breach and surged into Erith, burning through every inch of his body.

His vision blurred. His balance faltered.

The nearby guards crumpled around him.

They retched, choking on their own screams as their skin blackened and peeled away.

Skin sloughed away from bone, and one by one, they sagged lifeless onto the cobblestone.

Erith dropped to his knees.

Through the swirling dust, his gaze found Cerus—untouched, watching, as death closed in on Erith.

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