Floodlights lit the graveyard outside the cathedral. Revenant troops poured in—riot armor, pulse rifles, and drones overhead. They weren't here to negotiate.
Lia launched forward, energy pulsing from her palms in waves of crackling violet. Statues shattered. Drones fell from the sky.
Kairo snapped back into focus, his scope locking in. He dropped two soldiers with perfect precision, cover fire dancing around Lia.
But the Revenants weren't retreating.
They were buying time.
From the smoke, Caine emerged in his tactical suit, flanked by enhanced operatives.
"Valen," he called out, voice amplified. "Now that you know, don't you wonder why I let you live?"
Lia stepped in front of Kairo. "Back off."
Caine chuckled. "He was meant to be your balance. But what happens when balance breaks?"
Lia fired a blast straight at Caine—he deflected it with a burst of kinetic shielding.
The fight exploded.
Kairo and Lia moved as one, but this time—Kairo hesitated. The doubt was there. The questions. And Caine saw it.
He landed a hit.
Lia cried out, slammed into the cathedral gate.
Kairo screamed her name, rage overtaking fear. His hands lit up—crimson this time, not violet—and a blast erupted from him, stronger than ever before.
Caine staggered back, injured but laughing. "Oh… it's waking up. He's not just a stabilizer. He's evolving."
As Caine retreated into the smoke, Lia stood, bruised but steady, and looked at Kairo—his hands still glowing, his breath shaky.
"I didn't know I could do that," he said, almost afraid.
Lia reached for him. "Whatever it is… we face it together."
Their fingers touched.
And the glow between them—crimson and violet—merged.