The monster's head slid cleanly from its shoulders.

  A moment of stillness followed—its body still upright, claws half-raised, like the thought of killing hadn’t yet left it.

  Then the blood came.

  A spray of dark crimson arced from the severed neck, painting the floor and wall in a sharp, hissing burst. The creature collapsed backward with a wet, final thud, heavy limbs twitching once before going still.

  Kael stared, frozen in place.

  It’s dead. It’s actually dead.

  He hadn’t realized how close it had gotten. How little time had separated his survival from a claw through the chest. His hands trembled as his breath came in short, ragged bursts—loud and uneven, like his lungs were trying to catch up with what had just happened.

  The panic didn’t come in a rush.

  It settled, slow and heavy, now that it was over.

  He didn’t even register her until her fingers tapped lightly against his shoulder.

  Aiko stood beside him, crouched slightly, one hand extended. It trembled faintly in the space between them.

  Kael looked up.

  Her face was drawn, lips thin, and her usual calm cracked just enough to show the glint of strain behind it. Cold sweat ran in thin trails down her temple, catching the dim light, and her smile—while small—was real.

  It grounded him.

  He reached up and took her hand.

  “We… we did it,” he said, forcing the words between still-shaky breaths. “We survived.”

  Aiko nodded once, her voice low. “Stay quiet. There could be more.”

  She glanced toward the shattered entrance and the open hallway beyond. “And we don’t have a tripwire anymore.”

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  Without another word, they moved toward the rubble near the collapsed wall, tucking into the broken contours of the stone. They stood close, Kael’s back half-guarding her, Aiko’s breath quiet but present just behind his neck.

  He didn’t look back—but he didn’t have to.

  He could feel the tension in her posture. The same fear he carried, folded into precise control.

  She had looked unshaken the whole time—but now he saw the truth.

  She had been just as scared as he was. Maybe more.

  And yet, she had carried both their weight. Shielded him from the panic by never once showing it.

  Kael exhaled through his nose.

  I trust her, he thought. Not just with the plan. With my life.

  He didn’t have bonds like this—had never really had them. Not in the alleys. Not in the Academy. He had survived alone, always.

  But something had started to shift.

  And he felt it now.

  He would fight for her just as she fought for him.

  They waited in silence for minutes. Nothing moved. No sounds came from the hallway.

  Then Aiko leaned in.

  “Stand guard. I’ll extricate the core.”

  Kael nodded and stepped forward slightly, eyes locked on the corridor while Aiko knelt beside the corpse. Her sword glimmered faintly, soft sparks flickering down its edge. She raised it without hesitation and plunged it into the chest.

  A wet crack followed, then a grinding noise as she sliced a clean line down through flesh and plated hide. Blood spilled, thick and dark.

  Kael didn’t turn. Just listened.

  Then—

  A quiet inhale from behind him.

  “I see it.”

  A moment passed.

  “It’s beautiful,” she murmured.

  Kael glanced back.

  The monster’s chest lay split open, and nestled deep within was a sphere the size of a ping pong ball, pulsing gently with light. It glowed with a rich, swirling mix of violet and deep green.

  Aiko’s hand reached in and closed around it. The light shifted, flickering between hues as she slowly pulled it free.

  She stared at it, brows drawn.

  “Is this…” she whispered, “air affinity? With…” She frowned slightly. “Gravity?”

  Kael turned fully this time.

  The glow of the core reflected in his eyes. For a second, the room seemed to disappear around it.

  This is what we’re fighting for…?

  The thought rang hollow and awed at once.

  It looked mesmerizing—almost sacred. And yet, it had pulsed inside a creature that tried to kill them. Had likely killed others before them.

  Beauty. And destruction. In one hand.

  Aiko stood and turned to him.

  “You can take the first one,” she said, offering it out.