Chapter 101: Grimoire XII
The faint glimmer in the ash pulsed once—twice—like the heartbeat of a dying beast that refused to accept death.A low hum spread across the broken coliseum, the sound of fractured essence fighting to reassemble itself.
Aria’s eyes widened. She staggered forward, green fire licking along her arm as she raised her grimoire."No. Don’t you dare crawl back!"
Her vines lashed out, wrapping the glowing ember in a cocoon of burning thorns. The miasma hissed against the flames, shrieking as it struggled to seep through.
But Fenric lifted a hand, his silver fire igniting again—calm, deliberate."Wait."
Aria snapped toward him, furious. "Wait? If we let it breathe, it’ll rise again!"
Laxin, coughing blood, dragged himself upright on chains that barely held form. His grin wavered, but his voice cut sharp through the tension."She’s not wrong, Fen. That thing doesn’t quit. You saw it—fear’s baked into its marrow. It’ll come back worse if we let it."
Fenric didn’t deny it. His silver eyes stayed fixed on the trembling light, his tone steady, controlled."Yes. It will rise again—if it’s left masterless. But it was created, not born. That means it can be claimed."
The words hit them harder than the shockwaves had.
Aria froze, vines quivering as her jaw clenched. "Claimed? You mean... tame that?"
Laxin barked out a ragged laugh, chains rattling as he leaned forward. "Of course he does. That’s Fenric. Always looking at the beast and thinking: how do I turn this into a blade instead of letting it cut me down?"
The ember pulsed harder, sensing attention, like a cornered predator daring them closer. Black-gold sparks scattered into the air, whispering with remnants of despair.
Fenric stepped forward, his silver flames wrapping around him in quiet defiance of the miasma. His voice was low, but it carried through the ruined arena."Vex is no longer what it was. It’s broken, vulnerable. This is the moment to decide: destroy it completely... or bend it into something new. Something bound to us—not to despair."
Aria’s flames flickered uncertainly. Her voice cracked between fury and fear."And if it corrupts you instead?"
Fenric’s hand hovered above the ember, the Fairy King Ring casting silver arcs against the ash."Then I’ll burn with it."
The glimmer pulsed brighter, as though answering his words, daring him to try.
The choice hung heavy in the air—obliterate the abomination once and for all, or gamble everything by binding it to their will.
Fenric’s gaze never wavered from the ember. His silver flames licked outward, forming a halo that kept the black-gold miasma at bay. He stepped closer, each footfall measured, deliberate, as if the very arena itself dared him to falter.
Aria’s green fire flared, almost instinctively, trying to engulf the ember once more. "Fenric, don’t! This thing isn’t yours to command. It’ll twist you, eat you alive from the inside!"
Laxin growled, chains rattling as he hovered in a defensive circle. "She’s right, Fenric. We barely survived its last tantrum. You think you can bind that?"
Fenric’s hand extended, hovering just above the flickering core. The Fairy King Ring spun faster, radiating arcs of light that coiled like living serpents around his wrist. His voice was calm, steady, unshakable, but every word carried the weight of absolute certainty.
"I don’t command it. I invite it. There’s a difference. Vex was forged from despair, yes—but despair obeys only those who claim it. Not those who fear it."
The ember pulsed violently, black-gold sparks shooting into the air, each pulse clawing at the edges of their resolve. Aria’s flames fought to contain it, but they seemed to hesitate, as if recognizing something in Fenric’s aura that she could not see.
Fenric took another step, letting the fire and silver light flow together, his voice growing stronger:
"Vex... you are mine to temper, not to destroy. You will serve not fear, but will. Not despair, but purpose."
The ember shivered violently, the furnace-light flickering between chaos and clarity. Whispers slithered through the arena, fragments of memories, pain, and fury—Vex testing, probing, resisting.
Aria gritted her teeth, fists clenched around her grimoire. "Fenric... if this goes wrong, if it bites—"
"I burn with it," Fenric said, cutting her off, voice as steady as a mountain. "I choose this. Stand with me—or step back. But do not interfere with what must be done."
Laxin hesitated, then grinned, bloodied and battered. "He’s insane... but I like his style. Let’s see what kind of beast you’ll make of it, Fenric."
Fenric pressed his palm to the ember. Light and darkness intertwined, silver flames licking black-gold fire. The pulse of the furnace slowed, unsure, as if the core itself recognized a new master. Pain and resistance erupted, screams of fractured essence rattling the coliseum—but Fenric did not flinch.
A shiver ran through the arena as the ember’s light flared, not with fury, but with reluctant acknowledgment. For the first time, Vex’s core hesitated, fractured despair folding under the weight of absolute will.
Aria stepped back, green flames spiraling protectively around her. Laxin kept his chains ready, coiled and tense, but neither attacked—they understood this was Fenric’s choice to make.
A long, drawn-out pulse shook the ground. And then, slowly, the black-gold glow dimmed, reshaping itself into a steadier, calmer light. The furnace hummed, not with menace, but with a fragile, nascent obedience.
Fenric withdrew his hand, silver flames simmering as he looked down at the ember, now small but steady.
"It’s... ours," he murmured.
Aria and Laxin exchanged a glance—cautious, awe-struck, and aware that this was only the beginning. The abomination of despair had not been destroyed. It had been claimed. And whatever came next, they would face it together—or it would devour them all.
The arena lay in ruin, but for the first time in endless hours, silence felt like hope.
The ember pulsed again, this time with a faint, rhythmic thrum—like a heartbeat learning a new rhythm. Fenric crouched beside it, hand still hovering, letting it adjust, letting it understand that fear no longer dictated its existence.
Aria finally exhaled, green flames dimming slightly as she allowed herself a tentative step closer. "It... it’s not lashing out," she said, voice cautious. "It’s... listening. Or maybe just... learning to."
Laxin flexed his arms, chains rattling lightly, still bristling with restrained energy. "Learning, sure—but don’t get comfy. Things like this don’t change overnight. One wrong move, and it’ll snap back into hell mode faster than we can blink."
Fenric didn’t respond immediately. His eyes stayed locked on the ember, reading its flickers, gauging the rhythm of its resistance. The furnace was still unstable, a volatile mixture of raw despair and untested obedience, but it pulsed in tune with him, faintly, almost imperceptibly.
Then, a thin wisp of black-gold smoke rose, curling around Fenric’s silver flames without hostility. The ember’s light shifted subtly, taking on a steady, almost obedient cadence. Fenric allowed a single nod, small but deliberate.
"It will need guidance," he said finally. "And patience. We cannot force it, only walk with it. But right now... right now, it is ours to temper, not ours to destroy."
Aria’s fingers tightened around the grimoire, flames licking higher. "Then we’ll help," she said, voice firm. "If it bites, it bites together. No one faces it alone."
Laxin grinned, chains coiling reflexively. "Yeah. And if it tries to bite me, I’ll make sure it regrets it."
The ember pulsed in response, small flares of black-gold light intertwining with Fenric’s silver aura, as if recognizing the trio’s resolve. A low hum began to resonate through the arena—no longer the screams of despair, but a tentative song of potential, a raw, trembling promise that even something forged from darkness could find new purpose.
Fenric exhaled slowly, brushing ash from the collapsed stones around them. "We’ve survived it once," he murmured. "Now... we begin to shape it. Carefully. Together."
And for the first time in what felt like an eternity, the three of them—scarred, battered, and unbroken—stood in the quiet aftermath, the future uncertain, yet theirs to forge.
Fenric’s gaze shifted from the ember to Aria, his silver flames dimming just slightly as he spoke, voice carrying the weight of command and clarity.
"Aria... your Vex is great," he said slowly, each word deliberate. "It has grown, it has power now—but it is not yet complete. There are still limits, and now it is time for Laxin and me to forge our own strength, independently. Your Vex is loyal—more loyal than most, perhaps—but even the strongest cannot carry the weight of all our battles."
Aria’s brow furrowed, green flames flickering uncertainly. "You... you want me to step back?" she asked, voice tight. "After everything we’ve survived, after all it has done with me?"
Fenric inclined his head. "Yes. It is not a step away from trust—it is a step toward focus. Take your control back from it, for now. Let it rest in your care while Laxin and I carve our own path. The ember is alive... and it will need time to recalibrate. Its loyalty is immense, but it cannot live your life for you, and neither can we. That much power must be tempered."
Laxin cracked a grin, though blood still streaked his face, his chains rattling lightly in anticipation. "Finally, huh? Time for Fenric and me to see what we can build from the ashes. Let’s make our own monstrosity."