The ritual is performed, and the mark successfully transfers to Ayame. The moment it touches her skin, Ayame is overwhelmed by visions of The Devourer—a massive, swirling void of darkness that seeks to consume all existence. The mark begins to eat away at her soul, testing her resolve and filling her with doubt. She feels the weight of every choice she's ever made, the lives she's lived and lost, and the endless cycle of death and rebirth she once thought she'd escaped.

In a haunting vision, The Devourer speaks to her, promising her power beyond imagination if she surrenders to it. It taunts her with the idea that the balance she fights for is meaningless, that all things must return to the void eventually.