The golden dragon frothed and writhed within the lava. The halo of fire around his head signaled that the blessing of heat protection was still in effect, but the way it flickered made doubtful if it would last. Cainen burst out of the pool, his wings snapping open and sending globules of lava everywhere. Before any Kana could gain their wits about them, he leapt upward and smashed through the roof. Golden wings tore through an ember-filled sky.

    "Follow him! Subdue him and purge him of Cainen!" Bai Hu roared.

    As one, the flock of Kana took off in pursuit of the rouge. Even Bai Hu himself rose from his pillow and exited his abode. His great wings beat against the sky as he entered the chase.

    Taken aback, Aelwen limped out of the house and gazed at the glinting golden scales quickly retreating away from her.

    "GEREL!" The intensity of the scream tore her throat. She broke into a desperate run. Frenzied wingbeats took her into the air. Her cat-like eyes were aimed at her friend. If I can just reach him and touch his head, I can somehow subdue Cainen, right? His father did so the first time he transformed, I must be able to do the same!

    Several Kana were just able to reach the golden dragon, their claws raking against his scales before he would violently lash his head back and bite them. A few more Kana aimed for his wings, preparing to slice through their membranes. A bout of purple and gold fire from Cainen's mouth blasted them back.

    "We can only be hurt by demons," Huan's words echoed in Aelwen's mind. Did that mean even in Gerel's body Cainen could harm or even kill the Kana?

    Apparently so. The Kana hit by his fire shrieked before spiraling downward to the ground below. A few who were only grazed quickly licked their wounds before attempting the chase again.

    Following up in the rear, Bai Hu's large form was seething with holy magic. A fireball of gigantic proportions shot from his paws, the projectile aimed straight for Cainen--Gerel's body.

    "NO!" Aelwen howled, wings flapping as fast as they could.

It hit with an explosion. Waves of energy blasted forth. Even still, when the dust cleared a halo of fire protection circled Carinen's head. He appeared unharmed. The force of impact, however, sent him reeling downward. Bai Hu took this chance immediately, pinning his wings to his side and diving after the dragon. With a massive crash, he had pinned Cainen's squirming form beneath his paw. A few other Kana secured his jaw closed. His ember eyes turned toward Aelwen, who was growing close. "Quickly, now, Spirit Waker!"

Aelwen landed before Cainen. The creature's eyes bore into hers, turbulent mixes of golds and browns churning within his irises. She shot a paw forward and placed it on his forehead.

"Ahh-!" Aelwen shrunk back in pain when a long shard of amethyst jutted from Cainen's scales and dug deep into her paw. More of these violet spikes shot from his body, piercing the Kana holding him down and making them release him. He wriggled out from under Bai Hu's loosened grip and made a final flight toward the edge of the Kana's home. The barrier between the pocket reality and the rest of Eveanor was just ahead. When he drew near, the air itself shimmered with magic. Then, just like that, the golden dragon vanished, and Gerel with him.

Aelwen stared at the spot where he'd been. Her wings slowly sunk low, limply brushing hard dirt. Tears pricked at her eyes. There was a growing emptiness beginning to tear away at her insides. A void eating her heart. Though the uninjured Kana continued to pursue him, quickly flying through the pocket-dimension's walls, Aelwen had a despairing feeling they weren't going to be able to stop him.

She wasn't going to see Gerel again for a long time, was she?

Everything felt wrong. Gerel's body soared high into the sky. He could feel the rushing wind and moisture of the clouds touching his scales, but it was all a bit fuzzy, as if not quite all there. Not to mention the fact that, well, he couldn't control any part of his body. It was as if his limbs were not his own, the way they moved and flexed without his volition. It was like his soul was locked tightly within his own mind, his eyes the only windows to the outside world. An overwhelming feeling of helplessness and panic overtook him. Even worse were the tendrils of Cainen's spirit. They probed and prodded through Gerel's mind, leafing through his memories and scraping at his will. Yet there was nowhere Gerel could go. There was no escaping the one who attacked his very mind. He felt like there was only a small bit of him left.

Sometimes, very briefly, his consciousness would flash back into the spirit world. There, he would find that Cainen has forced his paws into the burrow of Gerel's spirit tree. His massive claws wrapped themselves around Gerel's soul, taking up most of the space in the cavity and squeezing against the small fox's body tightly. Still, he attempted to fight, rolling and pressing against the paws with all his strength. It was a losing battle. Gerel was barely able to squirm, let alone move along the tunnel that led back to his human form tree.

He was trapped within himself. The crushing weight of the helplessness of his situation weighed almost as heavily as Cainen's paws.

Some of Cainen's thoughts would echo through Gerel's head. The voice was deep and slightly gravelly. Despite being only in the mind, these words felt like they vibrated the golden dragon's very bones.

Kotuya. It has been almost nineteen years since I chose you to be mine. It was your mother's dip into my power that cemented this contract.

Gerel thought back to the story Beveri had told him of fighting her witch-possessed sister. During the battle she'd forsaken Auria and used Cainen's magic to kill. This is what had led Gerel to be fully claimed as the golden dragon? Had his mother's choice renewed the ancient blood-oath the Koana had taken with Cainen so many long years ago?

Cainen sensed these questions wafting from Gerel's consciousness. Indeed. The Koana have evaded my will for too long. They have owed me a vessel ever since they became followers of Auria. The name of the creator was spoken with venom. But now I have you. Despite your utter failings and attempts to be rid of me, still I have graced you with my spirit. You should be grateful to host one such as me. But do not worry, your transgressions shall not go unpunished.

Vivid images of the Koana traveling to the Fire Kana's hideout were forced into Gerel's thoughts by Cainen's tendrils. But before the tribe members could reach refuge, the shining form of a golden dragon appeared, his fiery breath raining down upon the people and burning them to ash. Delku and Beveri screamed in agony as their melting faces turned towards their son. The dragon then turned its sights to the Kana. It slaughtered them in a cold rage, ripping apart the bodies of the spirits. King Jesoph, Erno, and even Jane were sliced through. And then, Aelwen appeared, standing alone amidst the purple flames. Her gaze burned deep into Gerel. The look of betrayal on her face was unbearable. She Shifted into dragon form and lunged at him, teeth bared in a furious snarl. The golden dragon caught her by the throat and slammed her to the ground. Pinning her wings under his back paws, he raised his free paw over her head, before bringing it down on her chest, tearing through tough scales and ripping her open. Her piercing screams were deafening. Two blood-soaked claws sliced through her eyes, then her neck. Her body took its last breath, collapsing with a shudder under his grip.

Gerel could only watch in horror as Cainen played the scenario over and over again in his mind. At some point, long into Cainen's flight, Gerel felt like he'd broken. His soul began to languish. He didn't fight back when the beast's claws sunk deeper into his silver flesh.

"She's fallen into a bit of a funk," Jane chirped as she fluttered before Erno. "Jesoph's comforting her, but it's not doing much. Poor girl."

Erno sat before a heaping plate of noodles and rice topped with various spices and sauces. According to the Kana, they kept stocked with a fairly sizable supply of food just in case a mortal were to visit. As such, most of the food was non perishables. Jane and Erno were offered dinner after the fight, and both gladly accepted. Aelwen had decided to retreat to a private room upstairs from the dining area. Her father went with her. Jane had just flown upstairs to take a peek at Aelwen's state. The princess's eyes were rife with tears, her father's supportive hand on her shoulder. Their voices were low and melancholy, but Jane's sharp ears could hear them discuss Gerel's importance, and what they would be able to do without him. Jane's heart felt pangs of empathy when she saw Aelwen's face. The girl was clearly broken up about this boy. Hmm.

Flames crackled in the fire pit next to the low table Erno lay before. His iron-clad tail gently waved to and fro while his front talons scooped rice into his mouth. Jane plopped down beside her own plate (which was twice her size). She began to eat a few individual grains of rice, each slathered in sauce.

The room of this house was empty save for these two. The Kana were either out searching for Cainen, tending to the wounded, wounded themselves, or frantically talking among themselves about what to do.

Everyone was wondering what came next. Cainen --the most powerful demon ever known--  was out and about in the world now (not to mention in the body of a Koanan boy), and  could possibly wreak all kinds of havoc on Eveanor. What if he and Liriel-possessed-Kera found one another and teamed up? What then?

Jane lolled her head onto her shoulder and gave a groan. "I don't like this. Not one bit. Seems like everyone's getting possessed left and right. What's next, me getting taken over by a demon of blood and guts?" She shivered. "And then I'd RIP myself open, tearing out my intestines and feeding them to a crow! That's what the demon would make me do, right?"

Erno didn't give his usual chuckle at Jane's antics. He was focused on the fire, the light reflecting in his pupils making them almost look like the glowing ember eyes of the fire Kana.

"You alright, big guy?"

"No."

Jane flattened her mouth into a line. "Ok." She nervously tapped her chin. "You wanna talk about it?"

"No." His focus was so completely not on Jane that she wondered if he was even properly listening to her.

Jane tilted her head to the other side. "Do you have family out there in the great beyond?"

It was now that Erno took a glance at her. "Yes. My son. I'm worried for him."

"You haven't seen him in a long time?" Jane ventured.

"No. I tend not to interact with generals in Liriel's forces." Erno took a swig of beer. The foam decorated the spikes along his chin before being wiped away.

"Ah. I see." She paused a moment before furrowing her brow. "Kotuya works as your apprentice, right? I think I've seen him there several times while picking up silver orders."

"You are correct. I am surprised you noticed, given the way your mind... tends to flicker from subject to subject."

Jane pouted. "Hey, I'm not that distractible. I notice things sometimes."

"Mhm." Erno took another swig.

Jane rolled her eyes. "Anyway, what I'm getting at is, do you think of Kotuya a bit like a son to you? Or a nephew even? You've been his mentor for a while."

Erno regarded Jane slowly.

"Well, even if you can't control or know of the destiny of your real son, maybe instead you can control what happens to Kotuya. We can save him. It could be kind of like... a way for you to feel better, right? Focus on saving Kotuya."

Erno's expression changed, the gears of his mind clearly whirring. Jane liked to imagine people's minds as machines. It helped her think of exact ways to try and help fix them. She hoped her current method of correlation was working on Erno's mind-machine.

"Mmh. I suppose," Erno's gruff voice responded. He scratched at a long, wicked scar on his chest.

Jane nodded and continued her meal. At least she'd gotten him thinking.

"Thank you."

Jane looked up in surprise.

"I... appreciate the attempt," Erno said with a smile.

Attempt? Jane knew she had succeeded. He just didn't want to admit it. "You're welcome," she replied with a satisfied nod.

Now, if only she knew how to even begin fixing the sparking, stuttering mess her own mind felt like right now.