**Chapter 13: Embers in the Abyss**
The air in the bunker tasted stale, thick with the metallic tang of fear and the faint hum of flickering emergency lights. Marverick and Ava leaned against a rusted supply crate, their hands clasped tightly. Outside, the world screamed—buildings collapsed in thunderous groans, the sky bled ash, and the distant wail of surviving cities echoed like funeral dirges. But here, buried beneath fifty feet of concrete and steel, they allowed themselves a breath. Just one.
Ava traced the jagged scar on Marverick's palm—a relic from their last clash with Azazel. "Think this place has chocolate?" she asked, her voice hoarse but teasing. "Apocalypse rations are all beans and despair."
Marverick smirked, nodding to a dented crate labeled *Non-Perishables*. "Check the back. I'll bet the Riggs stashed caviar next to the grenades."
For a heartbeat, they almost laughed. The bunker *was* a relic of the Riggs' paranoia—stocked with century-old canned goods, dusty antibiotics, and racks of weapons that glinted like forbidden fruit. But it was the faded mural on the wall that caught Ava's eye: a painted skyline of Eden before the Fall, its spires gold and unbroken. She pressed her palm to the art, as if she could siphon the memory of sunlight.
"We could stay," Marverick murmured, his forehead resting against hers. "Let the world burn itself out. Rebuild from the ashes."
Ava's smile faltered. "You don't mean that."
"No," he admitted. "But let me pretend."
The kiss was soft, desperate—a silent vow. For a moment, the walls felt less like a tomb.
Then the ground *shrieked*.
The concrete floor split like eggshell, tendrils of black smoke coiling upward. Ava's dagger was in her hand before Marverick could shout a warning. The air curdled, and the mural *bled*, Eden's skyline dissolving into rot.
From the fissure rose a figure—not a demon, but something *older*. Its body was a shifting mass of obsidian and bone, eyes like collapsed stars, and a voice that scraped the mind raw. **"M̸̧͠a̴͝r̵̛v̶̕e̷͌r̷͐ḯ̸c̶̽k̴͝.̷͝"**
Ava staggered, blood trickling from her nose. "What the hell *is* that?"
"**V̶͆ơ̸i̷̾d̷͝b̶͐o̴͝r̵͝n̶̆,**" the entity hissed, its form rippling. **"Ľ̸o̴͠c̷̛k̵̔e̷͝d̴͝ ̷͌a̷͝w̶̕a̷͌y̴̌ ̵͝b̷̎y̵͠ ̶̚t̷̕h̸͠e̴̅ ̷͝f̷̊ǐ̴r̸͝s̵͝t̶͝ ̴͝N̴͝e̴̅p̷͠h̶͝ǐ̷l̷̛i̷̕m̴̓.̸͝ ̶͝Y̴̓o̷͌u̸̓…̴̕ ̴͝a̴̔r̷͝e̷͌ ̴͝k̶͝e̷͝y̷͝.̸̚"**
Marverick's wings ignited—not gold now, but sickly green, the Elysium Stone's corruption seeping through their bond. "Run!" he roared, shoving Ava toward the exit.
The Voidborn lashed out. Concrete melted where it touched, the bunker's walls buckling. Ava fired her pistol, the bullets disintegrating midair. "We can't outrun this!"
"**Y̷͠o̷̓ǔ̸ ̵͝c̷̓a̵̛n̸̔'̴͝t̷̓ ̷͝o̴͝u̷͝t̷̓r̵͝ư̴n̵̓ ̴͝d̶͝a̷̓ř̸k̶͝n̶͝e̶͝s̵͝s̴̓,**" the entity crooned. **"Y̵͝o̴͝u̸͝ ̷͝a̸͝r̸͝e̵͝ ̸͝m̸͝a̷͝d̷͝e̵͝ ̴͝o̵͝f̴͝ ̸͝i̷͝t̷͝.̵͝"**
Marverick grabbed a grenade from the crate, pulling the pin with his teeth. "Eat this, you bastard!"
The explosion rocked the bunker. The Voidborn screeched, its form unraveling—but not before its claws raked Marverick's chest. He collapsed, blood pooling beneath him.
"NO!" Ava dragged him toward the exit, tears blurring her vision. Above, the ceiling groaned, steel beams snapping like twigs.
The Voidborn reformed, looming. **"F̸͝l̶͝e̶͝s̸͝h̸͝ ̶͝i̶͝s̴͝ ̸͝f̵͝r̷͝a̵͝i̷͝l̵͝.̵͝ ̷͝B̸͝u̸͝t̴͝ ̸͝y̷͝o̷͝u̶͝r̶͝…̶͝ ̸͝l̶͝o̸͝v̷͝e̴͝?̸͝"** It inhaled deeply, as if savoring. **"I̴͝t̷͝ ̴͝b̴͝u̸͝r̸͝n̷͝s̵͝.̶͝"**
Marverick gripped Ava's hand, their bond flaring one last time—a supernova of defiance. "Together," he choked.
She nodded, pressing her forehead to his. "Always."
The bunker imploded.
***
In the ruins, a single ember glowed. Not of fire, but of *them*—a fragment of their fused souls, clinging to the Elysium Stone's shattered core. Miles away, a survivor stumbled upon it: a child, her eyes wide with awe as the ember settled into her palm.
"Hope," she whispered, the word foreign yet familiar.
Above, the Voidborn's roar shook the earth—but the ember pulsed, warm and stubborn, in the dark.