Escape from the Ruined Tower...

The echo of Thélemor's scream still resounded as the tower began to die.

The gears supporting the floors creaked like fractured bones; the iron walls creaked open, releasing jets of incandescent steam.

The broken pipes spewed blood mixed with oil, as if the castle itself were bleeding to death.

Ayato staggered to his feet, surrounded by chains and erratic sparks that made him look like an electric specter.

His steps were clumsy, but each thud of metal falling from the ceiling seemed to move away from him, as if the tower recognized him… or feared him.

"Ayato, move!" Isolde cried, grabbing his arm to shake him out of his trance.

Sylphidia, still dizzy, covered her nose as she passed a ruptured tank of putrid fluids.

"Gods, it smells worse than the inn at the harbor!" And that's saying something!

Madelis, on the other hand, smiled even amidst the chaos, filling her bag with fallen vials and shards of shining metal.

"Never waste good loot in the midst of catastrophe..."

Dakim, with a thunderous voice, interrupted her.

"Either you die crushed by greed, or you live to laugh at it! Choose!"

The group rushed down the corridors, now converted into death rows.

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The freed souls hadn't completely vanished.

Among the broken walls, human shadows made of red light ran in circles, shouting prayers and curses in a broken language.

Some tried to cling to the group, as if searching for bodies to nest in.

Vera waved her book desperately, creating barriers of light that barely contained the souls.

"They're not enemies, they're fragments! They don't know they're dead!"

"Then tell them louder, because they're trying to kiss my face!"

Sylphidia shrieked, dodging a shadow that brushed her lips like an icy kiss.

They reached a platform suspended by chains, descending slowly into the bowels of the tower.

But the mechanisms were damaged: the gears creaked, and every now and then, the floor shook as if it were about to collapse.

Isolde took command, her sword still bloodied in her free hand.

"There's no other way out. We'll go down even if it falls to pieces."

The descent began. 

The sound of collapse accompanied them, as chunks of ceiling fell like meteors of burning iron.

Suddenly, the remains of Thélemor itself appeared: wires and fragments of metallic bone crawled like insects toward the platform, propelled by the last sparks of its hatred.

Ayato, without thinking, reached out a hand. Electricity erupted in a red and blue arc that incinerated the remains with a blow.

The new power flashed fiercely… but an instant later, a spark shook him, and he fell backward, convulsing like a fish out of water.

Sylphidia doubled over with laughter even through tears of terror.

"Hahahaha! The great electric demon, defeated by its own short circuit! This is priceless!"

Isolde didn't smile.

Her eyes were fixed on Ayato, as if in that chaos she had seen something the rest couldn't understand.

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The platform reached the main hall just as the chains holding it snapped with a metallic roar.

No sooner had they jumped out than the elevator plummeted into darkness, disappearing in an abyss of sparks and dust.

The group passed through the iron gate, already twisted by the collapse, and emerged into the open air.

The night greeted them with a deathly silence, broken only by the distant roar of the castle collapsing behind them.

The iron towers leaned like corpses falling to their knees.

A red cloud, a mixture of liberated souls and burning smoke, rose into the sky.

Dakim knelt in the blackened grass, breathing deeply.

"We are... alive. Against all logic, we are still here."

Vera, exhausted, could barely nod as she sank down beside him.

Madelis took out a vial and toasted herself, as if victory were excuse enough to drink.

Ayato stood a step back, looking at the ruined tower. His hands were still sizzling, unable to silence the tyrant's echo within him.

He muttered bitterly:

"The future of science above God... or just another condemnation for a mistake like me?"

No one responded.

The tower collapsed completely, burying Arkan Thélemor's last words in a cloud of dust and ash.

The group, badly wounded but alive, knew this was not the end.

They had only touched the heart of a vaster machine... and other tyrants waited in the shadows.

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Dawn arrived gray, tinged by the cloud of ash that still hung over the horizon where the Artificer's tower had collapsed.

The group found shelter in a clearing, surrounded by burnt trees that creaked in the wind. 

They had lit a makeshift fire, barely enough to warm their numb hands.

Ayato sat alone on a rock, his eyes fixed on the ground, while a few blue-red sparks still flew from his fingers, which he couldn't control.

The smoke from the fire mingled with the metallic smell of his skin, impregnated with electricity and blood.

Isolde watched him silently, rapier on her knees. Finally, she spoke coldly:

"It's the second time. Two Tyrant souls burning inside you. How long do you intend to continue stealing sentences like they were medals?"

Ayato laughed humorlessly.

"Until I burst, I suppose." But hey, if that happens, at least they'll get a good fireworks display.

Vera looked down, clutching her staff tightly.

"It's not funny... It's like you're carrying a soul furnace in your chest. Every time you fight, I feel... like it's not just you anymore."

Sylphidia, her hangover still etched on her face, drank from a canteen and snorted.

"And what's the alternative? Those monsters killing us all? I'd rather have a radioactive Ayato than a corpse. Although..." she glanced at him with a smirk, "the electrocuting yourself part was the highlight of the night."

Dakim interrupted, solemn as ever.

"The demon walks beside us. That can't be denied. But as long as that demon fights the right enemies, I'll still call him an ally."

Madelis, lying on the grass and playing with a coin, laughed softly.

"How poetic, Dakim. I'm just saying that if Ayato explodes, I plan to keep his bag."

The group laughed nervously, except for Isolde and Vera. Silence soon returned, broken only by the crackling of the campfire.

Ayato finally looked up. His eyes shone with that red-blue glow, a mixture of borrowed life and stolen damnation.

"I'm a mistake, I know. But I'm a mistake with teeth. And as long as the Tyrants live, I'll keep stealing their fires. One by one."

Isolde held her gaze, serious, without saying a word.

Dawn finally broke, bathing the clearing in a dim light.

Ashes continued to fall from the sky, like a dark snowfall that reminded everyone that victory hadn't come without a price.

The next day had already begun.

The path to the next tyrant awaited...