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“But why did Aaron burn down the temple?”

“Oh, Aaron didn’t,” Delos mused. “By yourfriend, I meant Xen.”

Evan blinked, then his nostrils flared. "Of course. Myfriend."

It made sense now why Xen had stuck around after Evan had returned from the Enclave Passage. When Zeev’s curse broke, they probably turned the temple upside-down looking for Reth. And when he found it was gone, in his rage, he burnt down the temple.

But if Xen had not found Reth, that meant their blood bond was still alive. Which was a relief.

Wait, what?

“We’re a few dozen meters away from the Old Temple, near the Tomb,” Delos said.

“The what?”

“The Tomb of Ascension.”

Evan’s eyes instantly darted towards the path lined with torches leading into the unknown. Only, now it was known.

The Tomb of Ascension, the ancient host of a powerful summoning array that could summon all gods and demons alike.

Cold sweat broke across Evan’s forehead, and Xen’s words haunted past his ears.

“They want to awaken something.”

This was it. The most fitting and accessible area in all of Emberlyn to perform an awakening ritual.

The Tomb of Ascension was once a one-way route for otherworldly beings to visit the human realm, until a bolt of lightning from heaven struck and broke the summoning array. But in that witch’s grimoire, she’d mentioned that she was able to repair the broken array of the tomb with her blood. Which meant the Tomb of Ascension could now essentially summon anything. God or ghost or demon.

No wonder the Covenant of the Nightshade’s temples were never found. It was because they didn’t have one. Instead, they mended the broken tomb and turned it into their cult’s shrine.

But why was Evan here? As a sacrifice? Or perhaps to keep him from disrupting the ritual?

Seeing the wheels spinning in Evan’s head, Delos prompted, “It seems they’ve preponed the Bloodbath ritual. I heard it will now take place tomorrow rather than two days from now.”

Evan groaned. “Fucking great.”

But he swiftly straightened when footsteps echoed at a distance, moving closer. A tall silhouette emerged through the narrow, torch-lined path, followed by another limping shadow. Backed by the golden glow of the burning torches, the tall figure looked ethereal for a moment. That was until his face came into the light and Evan’s furrowing brows dropped.

“Aaron…”

It was, indeed, Aaron. But he’d never looked less like himself. The blue eyes that once mirrored the calm depths of the ocean now glowed with an ominous purple light. On his forehead was a symbol, drawn in what looked like blood.

All those years Aaron had stuck by his side, Evan had wondered on multiple occasions what it would feel like if he disappeared, and Evan was once again left to his own devices. He’d always assumed it would be a little inconvenient for a few days...but then he’d get used to it. That he'd fall back into his old, lonely life patterns.

Only now did he realize how awfully wrong he was.

Aaron was Evan’s only friend. A true friend who didn’t overlook his quirks but accepted him whole. Weirdness and all. A friendship like that...it was worth holding onto.

A package deal, if Aaron were to describe it himself.

Looking at him now, under the influence of something sinister, staring down at Evan like he wanted to crush him, hurt Evan more than it frightened him. It was like a moment of epiphany, something that rooted Evan’s determination to save his friend firmly to the ground.

“You haven’t changed one bit,” Aaron broke the silence, still looking at Evan with a hint of displeasure but a smile contrastingly pleasant.

Evan didn’t even try to understand what he was talking about, staring at him with a blank face. The ball of black smoke nudged Evan’s ribs, rubbing against him as if in reassurance.

“How long has it been since we last met? Hmm, far too long,” Aaron strolled forward, stroking his stubble. The purple light flared in his eyes as he stepped closer. “Did I keep you waiting?”