The night had fallen like a velvet curtain, but the tension that hung in the air was anything but soft. The streets whispered with wind, dust curled around abandoned signs, and every corner echoed with Lucian's thoughts. His return to the hideout had not been quiet. He had seen the trail, the one Marinette had intentionally left behind. A scrap of cloth snagged on rusted wire. A footprint too deep in the ash to be wind-blown. She was still playing with him she was still hunting.
But he wasn't running anymore. Inside the hideout, Kia was sitting against the wall, a blanket draped around his shoulders. He looked stronger. The color had begun returning to his cheeks, and his eyes, once dull, were now alert. He looked up as Lucian stepped in, the door creaking behind him.
"Did she find you?" Kia asked.
Lucian shook his head. "She tried. But she's getting sloppy."
"She's not the type to be sloppy."
Lucian didn't respond. He walked past Kia to the far wall and opened the small compartment they'd created to store food. Inside were a few cans and a half-loaf of bread. It wouldn't last long.
"She's taunting me," Lucian said. "She wants me to follow her trail. She wants to fight."
"She's trying to kill you."
"That too." Lucian pulled the bread and broke it in half, handing a piece to Kia. "She thinks she's strong enough to erase me. Maybe she is."
"No," Kia said firmly. "She's not."
Lucian took a bite of the bread, chewing slowly. "She's with the Shochers. Which means they're closing in. If they find us, we won't survive."
Kia was quiet for a long moment before he said, "So what do we do?"
Lucian looked out the cracked window, his jaw tight. "We bring the fight to them."
Elsewhere, deep within the Shochers' underground command center, Marinette stood in front of a sprawling holographic map. Her crimson hair was tied into a high braid, and her eyes, sharp ,calculating were fixed on a blinking dot.
"He's not hiding anymore," she said.
Jace stood behind her, arms crossed. His uniform was torn from their last skirmish, but he hadn't bothered to replace it. He was watching her, not the map.
"Or maybe he's leading you in circles," he said.
Marinette scoffed. "He's not that clever."
"He's stronger than you want to admit."
She turned, her expression cold. "You forget who he is. Lucian is a flaw. A mistake. The longer he breathes, the more unstable this realm becomes."
"Yet we haven't managed to erase him."
Marinette's fingers twitched at her side. She hated being reminded of her failure.
Jace stepped forward, lowering his voice. "You've been chasing him for months. And what has it gotten you? Scrapes, half-answers, and this obsession. Maybe it's time we reevaluate."
Marinette glared at him. "He used his core to heal that boy. He's weak now. If I move quickly, I can end him before he recovers."
"If he hasn't already." she didn't respond.
"I'm going with you," Jace said.
Marinette raised an eyebrow. "Since when do you volunteer for missions?"Since I started believing you might get yourself killed."
The following morning, Lucian packed what little they had into a tattered backpack. Kia stood beside him, still limping slightly but determined.
"You sure about this?" Kia asked.
"They won't stop until I'm dead," Lucian said. "We need to find the other half of the shard. Before they do."
Kia looked toward the north ,toward the old mountains where the legend said the second half of the Heart of Aeon was buried.
"It's a long way," Kia said.
"I know." They left before sunrise, moving through the ruins of the city. Smoke curled from chimneys in the distance survivors, maybe. Or enemies. Lucian didn't care. His mind was fixed on the shard. He needed it to restore balance to contain the storm building inside him.
As they moved, Kia said, "You never told me what it felt like."
"What what felt like?"
"When you used your power on me."
Lucian hesitated. "It felt… like burning. Like every cell in my body was tearing apart. Like I was borrowing from something I couldn't afford to owe." Kia looked at him. "Why did you do it?"
"Because you're all I have." Kia shrugged and "it's not like die easily"
Back at the Shochers' command, Marinette and Jace suited up. She wore her custom assassin gear, black and lightweight, with twin blades strapped to her back. Jace opted for something simpler just his sword and a pulse dagger.
They departed without alerting the full council. This mission wasn't officially sanctioned. But Marinette didn't care. She had waited long enough.
As they moved through the outer ruins, Jace said, "He's moving north."
"How do you know?"
"I don't. But he's always been drawn to the mountain. That's where he saw the vision. Where the original fracture began."
Marinette narrowed her eyes. "Then that's where he dies."
Lucian and Kia reached the edge of the city by dusk. They made camp under the shell of an old transport ship, half-buried in the earth. A fire flickered between them.
Kia turned to Lucian. "Tell me about the shard. What does it actually do?"
Lucian was silent for a moment, staring into the flames. Then, "It balances the core. Without it, I'm unstable. I wasn't supposed to survive the awakening. I'm… incomplete."
Kia frowned. "So if we find the other half…?"
"I can control it. I can fix what's broken."
"And if we don't?"
Lucian didn't answer.
Kia lay back against the dirt, watching the stars flicker above. "Sometimes I wonder if the world even knows what's happening. If they care."
"They don't," Lucian said.
Silence stretched between them.
Then a noise sharp, sudden.
Lucian was on his feet instantly, his hand glowing faintly. Kia drew a blade from his boot.
A rustle. Footsteps.
Lucian motioned for Kia to stay back. He moved forward, slow and silent. Around the ship, past the debris and into the line of a throwing knife.
He ducked just in time. The blade sank into the metal behind him.
"Show yourself," he growled.
Marinette stepped into view, red hair shimmering in the moonlight, eyes cold as obsidian. "Hello, Lucian."
Jace stepped in behind her, sword unsheathed.
Lucian's chest tightened. "Didn't expect you to bring backup."
"I didn't need it," Marinette said. "But he insisted. Said he wanted to watch."
Jace gave a small shrug. "I like dramatic reunions."
Lucian narrowed his eyes. "You came all this way to die?"
Marinette drew her blades. "No. I came to finish what should've been done years ago."
Kia appeared behind Lucian, weapon ready.
Jace blinked. "The boy lives. Impressive."
Kia raised his chin. "And stronger than ever."
Lucian took a breath. "You don't want to do this, Marinette."
She smiled. "I really do."
The silence shattered.
She lunged.
Lucian met her blade with a flash of energy. Sparks flew. Jace moved to intercept Kia, but the younger boy surprised him he was agile, precise. The clash of metal and light echoed through the ruins.
Lucian fought with everything he had left. But Marinette was relentless. Her moves were calculated, born of hatred. She didn't want to win. She wanted him gone.
"I should've ended you when we were still in training," she hissed.
"You couldn't then," Lucian snapped, parrying a strike. "You can't now."
Jace faltered, bleeding from a cut above his brow. Kia held his blade at the ready, panting. "We're not going to survive this," he muttered.
Lucian glanced at him, then back at Marinette. "Maybe we don't have to."
He closed his eyes just for a second and let the power rise.
Golden light burst from him, searing through the night. Marinette stumbled, blinded. Jace shielded his face.
When the light faded, Lucian and Kia were gone.
Far away, in the shadow of the mountains, Lucian collapsed beside Kia.
"I used too much," he gasped.
Kia grabbed his arm. "You saved us."
"But at what cost?" The wind howled across the plains.
And in the dark, something stirred.