Inside the castle, tucked away from the chaos, a dimly lit room held two figures in silence.
Vel'Kareth and Vel'rath sat opposite one another, both bruised and drained from battle.
The air was heavy, a stillness only broken by the soft hum of the castle's ever-shifting walls.
Vel'rath leaned back against the cold stone, his breathing slow and shallow, his eyes half-lidded with exhaustion.
Vel'Kareth broke the silence. "We couldn't beat him alone," he said, his voice low, a rough edge of frustration underneath.
"But together, we have a chance."
Vel'rath scoffed weakly, turning his head away. "And ruin the thrill of chaos? You know I live for the struggle, brother."
Vel'Kareth stepped forward and placed a hand on his twin's shoulder. His grip was firm, grounding.
"I know you want to have your fun," he said quietly, eting his brother's eyes.
"But if we're going to bring him back... we have to do this. Together."
Vel'rath's gaze dropped, a tremble in his lip. He bit it to hold back the tears, but they ca anyway. "Fine... let's do it," he whispered.
The two brothers nodded, the silent agreent stronger than words.
Slowly, their hands gripped each other's forearms as pale light enveloped the room.
A flicker of power—Moon and Sun—rged, radiating back toward the witches they once split from.
nma paced along the land, his Ringmaster Creation pulsing with energy as he searched for Annie.
But no matter how far he cast his reach, no matter how many threads he pulled, she was nowhere to be found.
Across the battlefield, Zayne moved like a streak of ruby light.
His Speed Creation scanned the map from every angle, tracing through dead ends and lava mountains, but still... nothing.
"She's gone," Zayne said flatly, appearing beside nma in a flash.
nma shook his head. "No. Just hiding sowhere we're not looking."
"Or sowhere we can't look," Zayne replied, folding his arms.
Back at another place of Purgatory, Lunara and the other witches knelt in prayer.
Their hands trembled as they whispered under their breaths.
None of them could feel her presence. And that terrified them.
anwhile, deep in the twisting rooms of the castle, the fight raged on.
Vel'Tharion lunged with a glinting knife, but Annie danced backward, barely avoiding the tip.
The floor beneath her tilted—Vel'Zorath's Castle Creation shifted the room again, throwing her balance off.
She staggered, catching herself against a crumbling pillar, breath hitching in her throat.
The constant motion was making her dizzy.
Vel'Tharion, however, moved with ease, used to Vel'Zorath's terrain changes.
He advanced like a hunter in familiar woods, his footwork smooth, his blade swift.
From behind, two Creatures—a part of Annie's earlier summoned constructs—tried to corner Vel'Tharion.
But Vel'Zorath raised a hand, opening a swirling gate beneath them. They fell without a sound, swallowed by the void.
Annie didn't flinch. "They wouldn't have lasted," she muttered. Her fingers shifted, and her whip of light dissolved.
In its place ford a green, magical bow laced with glowing arrows.
She nocked one.
Then let it fly.
The arrow streaked through the air like a cot, exploding as it hit a wall behind Vel'Zorath.
He was already raising more walls, Castle Creation folding the battlefield around him in thick layers.
The magical blast rippled, but he was untouched.
Vel'Tharion charged again, undeterred. His blade clashed with Annie's arrows—not fired, but wielded like dual daggers in her hands. Sparks flew as steel t light.
Annie ducked, rolled, then fired again—another glowing shot that shattered on impact. But her breath was getting heavier.
Her shoulders tensed under the weight of the castle's constant shifting.
Every step required effort.
She wasn't used to fighting on a battlefield that refused to stay still.
Still, she stood tall, arrows burning at her fingertips.
The bow pulsed with energy. She shifted tactics, her shots now curving mid-air. One grazed Vel'Zorath's shoulder.
He grunted, raising another wall with a snap of his fingers.
But he was slowing down.
Vel'Tharion wasn't.
He pressed on, knife swinging in deadly arcs. Annie blocked one, then another, but he was inside her range now. Too close. Too fast.
Her knee buckled as the floor tilted again, and Vel'Tharion's blade ca down.
She caught it with her bow, the clash rattling up her arms. She grimaced, then kicked him back with a blast of light.
He slid across the floor, smirking. "Not bad."
"I'm just getting started," she replied.
Elsewhere in the vast Purgatory, nma and Zayne had gathered with the witches.
"She's holding them off, but for how long?" Lunara asked, eyes still closed.
Zayne answered first. "Depends on how many are after her."
"Two," nma said, his tone clipped. "Vel'Tharion and Vel'Zorath. Both Purgatorists."
"One of them has the Multiply Creation, what about the other ?..." Lunara's voice faltered.
nma finished the thought. "It has to be the one with Castle Creation. He's the strategist."
Zayne frowned. "But even he wouldn't throw her into a trap like this without sothing bigger waiting."
Silence fell.
The kind of silence that always ca before sothing catastrophic.
Back in the battle, Annie had landed another hit. Vel'Zorath's cloak was scorched now, his walls cracking faster than he could raise them.
Vel'Tharion had slowed too, a faint limp showing in his stride.
He swung wildly, but Annie deflected it, spun, and aid a final shot.
The arrow ignited.
She fired.
It was aid straight for Vel'Zorath's heart.
But just before it struck, the sky inside the castle darkened.
Not the ceiling—the sky.
An unnatural eclipse spread overhead, shadows washing across every surface.
Annie's arrow veered off course, disintegrating mid-air as a deep hum filled the room. Cold and oppressive.
A black sun blazed through a newly ford gate behind her, its light devouring color itself.
She turned just in ti to see it.
A figure stepped through, slowly. Cloaked in silence. Surrounded by an aura that bent the light around him.
The Eclipse Purgatorist had arrived.
The air itself grew heavy, pressing down like invisible chains.
Vel'Zorath and Vel'Tharion both took a step back.
Annie didn't. Her bow glowed brighter in defiance.
Her voice didn't shake. "So you're next."
The Eclipse Purgatorist said nothing.
But the black sun behind him pulsed again, and for the first ti since the battle began...
Annie realized she might not win this one alone.
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