The fire had long since died down. Ash curled lazily into the predawn air. Everyone else was asleep—Leo sprawled with an arm over his face, Eren curled protectively near the new girl who had yet to reveal her na. But Cain and Selene remained awake, sitting side by side on a mossy stone beneath the stars.
Cain's eyes were narrowed, scanning the trees with practiced vigilance. Selene rested her chin on her knees, her voice barely a whisper.
"Do you think he's really coming?"
Cain didn't answer right away. His hand twitched beside hers before he finally said, "He's always been coming. The only difference is we're strong enough to face him now."
Selene turned to him, brows creasing. "You still don't talk about him. Not really."
Cain sighed. "Because there's nothing to say that wouldn't make it worse."
"I want to know. For . Not the mission. Just..." she hesitated. "For us."
Cain's lips parted, and sothing flickered in his gaze—like a child rembering sothing he had tried to forget.
"He had this voice," Cain began slowly. "Low, calm... like ice. But when he got angry, it could fill a room. Like it wasn't just him—like sothing ancient was speaking through him."
Selene reached out and touched his hand. "Did he ever hurt you?"
Cain didn't answer.
But his silence was answer enough.
Selene leaned into him. "I'm sorry."
He looked down at her, his expression softening for the first ti in hours. "You make it easier. Being with you."
Selene blinked back sudden tears. "Even after everything?"
"Especially after everything."
They kissed—slow and quiet. A kiss born of pain and healing both.
But the mont shattered when the girl scread.
Everyone jolted awake.
She sat up, her body shaking, eyes wild.
"I saw him," she gasped. "In my dream. He was there. In chains—but he smiled. He smiled. He said... 'Tell my sons I'm proud of the chaos.'"
Cain froze. "Chains?"
"He's not free," Leo said, standing. "That's good, right?"
"No," Aelira said grimly. "If he's speaking to her from within chains, it ans he's close. Strong enough to send dreams. Strong enough to start pulling strings."
Eren muttered, "Then what now? We keep finding siblings while he sends nightmares?"
The girl—her voice trembling—whispered, "There's more than siblings. He said... there are others. Monsters. That he made. Experints."
Everyone fell silent.
Selene was the first to speak. "Then we get ahead of him. We find them before he does."
Cain stood. The wind pulled at his coat like a warning.
"We finish this," he said. "No more waiting. No more running."
He looked around at them—his brothers, Selene, Aelira, and the new sister who'd survived her own awakening.
"This ends with us," Cain said quietly, "Or it ends with him winning."
They nodded—one by one.
And in the distance, just beyond the Hollow, the trees whispered back with ancient breath.
The devil was waking.
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