Chapter 4

Part 1: The Binding Rite

They ran through the Vale for hours, the Devourer’s presence always just behind them — like breath on the back of Kael’s neck.

Eiran's magic flickered wildly, unstable again. The spell he’d unleashed to hold the creature off had cost him. Blood lined his lips. His eyes were dull silver now — fading.

“We’re running out of time,” he said, staggering against a tree.

Kael caught him. “Then we stop running.”

---

That Night – The Cave Beneath the Stars

They found refuge in a cavern lit by glowing moss, walls lined with mirrored quartz. A place sacred to the First Flame.

Eiran curled in Kael’s arms, shivering.

“The bond’s unraveling,” he whispered. “Too much power. Too much past. It’s pulling me apart from the inside.”

Kael pressed his forehead to his. “Then let me save you.”

Eiran looked at him with eyes full of pain and want. “There’s one way. But it’s forbidden.”

Kael didn’t blink. “Tell me.”

“The Binding Rite,” Eiran said softly. “It fuses not just souls… but bodies, power, lifelines. A true merge. No way to undo it.”

“Would it save you?”

Eiran nodded slowly. “But it might kill you.”

Kael kissed him.

“I’d die a thousand times if it means I get one eternity with you.”

---

The Rite Begins…

They stripped beneath the mirrored walls. The runes of the cave lit around them, one by one, reacting to their bond. Magic turned the air hot, heavy, humming with ancient desire.

Kael stood behind Eiran, arms around his waist, lips at his ear.

“You ready?” he murmured.

Eiran leaned into him. “I’ve been waiting lifetimes.”

Their bodies moved in sync — slow, fluid, desperate. Every touch sparked heat; every breath pulled the bond tighter. Kael pressed into him, deep and strong, their rhythm more than physical — it was ritual. Sacred. Eternal.

As they moved together, golden thread-like flames wrapped around them, knotting their souls, searing every moan, every cry, into fate itself.

“Say it,” Eiran gasped. “Say my name.”

Kael bit down on his neck, breath trembling. “Eiran… my heart… my end… my forever.”

Their climax came like a star collapsing — blinding light, a thunderous pulse, and silence.

When it faded, they were still tangled together — two bodies, one flame, runes carved into both their skins in mirrored arcs.

The bond was sealed.

No one — not gods, not death — could sever it now.

---

But Peace is a Lie…

They lay in silence, hearts syncing, souls bound.

And then…

> “You’ve made a mistake.”

The Devourer stood at the cave’s entrance — calm. Amused.

> “You thought a bond could save you? Fools. I’ve fed on greater love than yours.”

It raised a hand — and Eiran screamed, the runes on his chest flaring with pain.

Kael rose, glowing with flame, eyes like wildfire. “Get away from him.”

The Devourer smiled. “Kill me, and your bond collapses. I’ve already sunk part of myself into it. A parasite in your soul.”

Kael’s hands clenched into fists. “Then I’ll rip you out — even if it kills me.”

Eiran groaned, clutching Kael’s arm. “There’s another way. We can trap him. Use the bond to bind him inside it.”

Kael’s blood went cold. “You mean… trap him in us?”

Eiran nodded.

Kael looked into his eyes.

And said, “Then let’s damn ourselves together.”

---

Part 2: The Soul Trap

The cave trembled.

The Devourer stepped forward, its voice soaked in silk and rot. “You would bind me? You’ve barely tasted eternity — what makes you think you can trap it?”

Kael stood protectively in front of Eiran, sword drawn, eyes blazing with runes. “Because we’ve already bound each other,” he growled. “And there’s no force more terrifying than two people who’d die for each other.”

Eiran, pale and trembling, spoke the ritual words.

> “By bond sealed in body, breath, and blood —

We open the vessel, not to break… but to cage.”

The Devourer laughed. “You’re making your souls into a prison. Do you understand what that means?”

> “Yes,” Kael said. “It means you never get to leave. And neither do we.”

---

The Final Night

The ritual would begin at dawn.

But that night… Kael and Eiran lay together as if it were their last — because it might be.

Eiran hovered over Kael, kissing each rune on his chest. “Your heartbeat’s faster than ever.”

“Because I’m afraid.”

Eiran’s smile was sad. “I am too. But I want to be afraid with you.”

Kael pulled him close, pressing their foreheads together. “Then let’s burn slow tonight.”

They did. Their hands roamed with reverence, mouths memorizing skin like scripture. Kael traced the new mark over Eiran’s heart — the flame-bound circle of their shared soul — and kissed it tenderly.

Eiran whispered, “Take me like you’ll never get to again.”

Kael did — every movement deliberate, unhurried, as if time itself had frozen around them. Their breath synced, then quickened, as they moved with aching passion and holy desperation. The cave lit with their magic, stardust curling around them like silk.

And when Eiran came undone, calling Kael’s name like a prayer, Kael followed, whispering: “I love you. I never said it in our first life. I say it now.”

Eiran’s breath caught.

Then: “I love you too. Across every life. Even the ones where you ruin me.”

---

The Ritual

At dawn, they stood inside a circle carved into the stone, their blood at its edge. The Devourer loomed behind them.

> “One of you must remain,” it hissed. “A tether. A gate. Choose.”

Kael turned to Eiran. “Let me be the anchor. I’ll hold it — I can handle the pain.”

But Eiran stepped forward instead.

“You always carry the pain,” he said softly. “Let me take it, this time.”

Kael’s hands trembled. “No. You won’t come back.”

Eiran smiled through tears. “Then remember me. And if we meet again… kiss me like it’s the first time.”

The spell began.

Flames curled around Eiran’s body, drawing the Devourer inward. Kael tried to stop it — but Eiran held him back with one last kiss, fierce and hungry and full of finality.

> “You were always worth the price.”

And then—

Light.

Explosion.

Silence.

---

After

Kael awoke alone.

The cave was cold. Still. The flames had gone out.

The Devourer was gone… and so was Eiran.

But the bond mark still burned on Kael’s chest — faint, but alive.

He whispered, “You’re still in me. Aren’t you?”