The silence in the Foundry was heavy. It didn't feel like peace. It felt like the air pressure drop before a tornado.
Reed stood in the center of the room, his hand still raised where he had crushed the Death Knight's core. Violet smoke curled off his fingers. His coat was billowing around him, though there was no wind.
He felt… incredible. He felt like he could reach up and crack the ceiling like an egg. He felt like he could command the magma to flow uphill. He felt like eating the world.
"Clear," Reed said.
The voice that came out wasn't his. It was a subsonic rumble that vibrated the fillings in Grika's teeth.
Reed blinked. The world looked different. The HUD wasn't blue anymore; it was jagged purple text, scrolling too fast to read.
[WARNING: VOID CORRUPTION AT 80%.] [WARNING: EGO DEATH IMMINENT.] [SUGGESTION: CONSUME THE GOLEM. SHE LOOKS CRUNCHY.]
Reed shook his head, trying to clear the static. No. Bad System. Terra is family. Not food.
"Boss?"
Grika stepped out from behind Terra's frozen leg. She held her wrench like a weapon, but her hands were shaking. She looked at him not with her usual manic glee, but with wide, yellow-eyed terror.
"You're… smoking, Boss," Grika whispered. "And your eyes. They're… wrong."
Reed took a step forward. "I'm fine, Grika. I just upgraded the battery."
He reached out to pat her head. Grika flinched.
That hurt more than the necrotic fire burning in his veins. She was afraid of him.
"My Lord," Seraphine's voice was breathless.
The Lamia was huddled near the wall, her scales grey and frosted from the Lich's spell. She couldn't move her lower body, but she dragged herself forward with her claws, staring at him with a terrifying intensity. Her pupils were blown wide.
"Do not fear him, little goblin," Seraphine hissed, shivering violently. "He has ascended. He has taken the darkness and made it his own."
She reached out a trembling, frostbitten hand toward him. "You are burning, my Lord. It is… exquisite."
"It hurts," Reed admitted, his voice cracking back into his normal range for a second.
The adrenaline was fading, leaving only the rot. It felt like ice water was replacing his blood. His heart was hammering a frantic, irregular rhythm.
[CORRUPTION: 85%.] [HEART FAILURE IMMINENT.]
He stumbled, grabbing the railing of the catwalk. The violet light in his eyes flickered.
"I can't… filter it," Reed gasped. "It's too cold. It's stopping my heart."
"Medical emergency!" Maira's voice cut through the intercom, sharp and panicked. "Sir! Your vitals are crashing! Your core temperature is dropping to ambient levels! You need a heat source! Or a soul anchor!"
"Anchor," Reed wheezed.
He looked at the wall.
"Elara!" Reed shouted. "Protocol Zero!"
For a second, nothing happened. Then, the stone wall rippled.
Elara drifted out. The Banshee looked terrified. She hated the Foundry—it was loud and hot—but she floated toward him, her translucent dress billowing in the necrotic wind coming off his body.
"Reed?" she whispered. "You feel… loud. Like a scream."
"I need you inside," Reed gritted out, falling to one knee. "Balance it. Please."
Elara didn't hesitate. "I have you," she said softly.
She didn't touch him with her hands. She dove. She floated forward and simply phased into his chest.
GASSSSSSP.
Reed arched his back, a silent scream tearing from his throat.
It was the most invasive, intimate sensation of his life. It felt like swallowing a glacier. He felt Elara's spirit slide through his ribs, bypass his lungs, and wrap her ghostly hands directly around his burning, corrupted heart.
[SYSTEM ALERT: SOUL SYNC INITIATED.]
[Primary Soul: Reed (Void/Earth).]
[Secondary Soul: Elara (Spirit/Ice).]
[Mixing…]
The sensation of the Void—the hunger, the rage, the desire to eat Grika—slammed into a wall of absolute, mournful calm. Elara was the Anchor. She was the ghost who refused to move.
Inside his mind, he heard her voice. Not through his ears, but echoing in his own thoughts.
(Too hot, Reed. You are burning so bright. Let me cool it.)
He felt her spiritual coldness mix with the necrotic heat. It sizzled. The pain vanished, replaced by a euphoric, numbing buzz that started in his chest and rolled out to his fingertips.
The violet smoke stopped pouring off him. The jagged purple light in his eyes smoothed out into a deep, steady amethyst glow.
Reed slumped forward, catching himself on his hands. He took a breath. It didn't hurt.
[STATUS: STABILIZED.] [New Mana Type: SHADOW-FLAME (Hybrid).]
"Whoa," Reed breathed. His voice was his own again, but layered with a faint, ghostly echo.
He looked down at his chest. He could feel her in there. A cool weight, resting just behind his sternum. It was comforting. Like carrying a piece of winter in his pocket.
(I am staying,) Elara's voice whispered in his head. (It is quiet in here. And warm. I like it.)
"Stay as long as you want," Reed murmured.
He stood up. The fear was gone from the room. But the damage remained. He looked at Terra. The massive Golem was still a frozen statue, encased in the Lich's rime. He looked at Seraphine, who was curled in a shivering ball, too cold to move.
"They are dying," Reed realized. "The cold is still holding them."
(Then burn it away,) Elara whispered. (Use the new fire.)
Reed walked over to Terra. He placed his hand on the Golems icy chest, right where Riva had tried to warm her earlier. This time, he didn't use Blue Mana. He used the purple fire humming in his veins.
"Wake up, big girl," Reed commanded.
[ABILITY: OVERLORD TOUCH] [Effect: DISPEL FROST.]
HISSSSSS.
Violet flames erupted from his palm, washing over the frozen stone. It didn't burn Terra; it consumed the ice. The frost shattered instantly, turning into steam.
TH-THUMP.
Terra's core ignited. Her eyes snapped open, blazing white. "SYSTEM… ONLINE," Terra boomed, her voice returning to its normal seismic volume. She flexed her fingers, shedding the last of the ice. "DID I NAP? I FEEL… REFRESHED."
"You napped," Reed smiled.
He turned to Seraphine. The Lamia was looking at him with awe. He knelt beside her. He didn't ask; he just placed his hands on her frozen cheeks.
"Warm up, Sera."
He pushed the energy into her. Seraphine gasped, her back arching as the heat rushed into her cold-blooded veins. The grey faded from her scales, replaced by vibrant emerald and gold. She grabbed his wrists, nuzzling into his palms, purring so loud it sounded like an engine idling.
"My Lord," she moaned, her eyes rolling back. "You taste… spicy."
"Technically," Maira's voice crackled over the speakers, sounding relieved but tight, "Elara is the only one with the permeable physiology to survive direct contact with the Void Core. Do not be jealous of the ghost, General. She is merely the coolant system."
"She is hugging his soul!" Seraphine snapped, revitalized enough to be angry.
Reed looked at them. He felt Elara giggle inside his ribcage.
"I'm back," Reed said, dusting off his coat. He felt strong. Not 'Eat the World' strong, but 'Defend the House' strong.
He walked over to Grika. He crouched down.
"Hey, grease-monkey," Reed said softly. "You okay?"
Grika looked at him. She looked at his violet eyes. She sniffed him.
"You smell like ozone and graveyard dirt," Grika decided. Then she punched him in the leg. "Don't scare me like that, Boss! I thought you were gonna go full villain!"
"Never full villain," Reed promised. "Just… villain-adjacent."
He turned to the exit. The adrenaline was fading, but the problem wasn't solved.
"The Lich is gone," Reed said, his new violet eyes narrowing as he looked toward the ventilation shaft. "But he left his army behind. Maira?"
"Sir," Maira responded. "The remaining skeletal forces are retreating. But they aren't scattering. They are regrouping at the river."
"The bridge," Reed realized. "They're going for the town."
(They want to hurt the soft things,) Elara whispered in his mind.
"Not today," Reed said.
He looked around. Kaelen was slumped against the far wall. She had taken a massive hit from the Lich. Reed walked over to her. She was conscious, but groggy. Her armor was dented.
"Inquisitor," Reed said, offering a hand.
Kaelen looked at his hand. She looked at the violet glow in his eyes. She hesitated, then took it. He pulled her up.
"You are… abomination," Kaelen muttered, swaying slightly.
"I'm the guy who just saved your life," Reed corrected. "And now we have a road trip to make."
"Road trip?"
"We need your horse," Reed said, checking his pockets. "And we need to burn a bridge."