The black eye in the center of the Book of Shadows blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Then it opened fully—swirling like an eclipse, void of color, full of something deeper than death.
Asher froze, still gripping it.
Jeremy's voice cut through the heavy silence.
"Asher..." His tone was low, shaken. "Let it go."
But Asher couldn't move.
The eye looked at him. Not physically—but inside him. It pulled at the grief, the anger, the brokenness that still burned from Ezekiel's death.
"Asher, drop it!" Jeremy shouted now, limping closer.
"I..." Asher's voice shook. "I think... it's showing me something..."
The Book pulsed again.
And suddenly—
Asher was gone.
*******
He stood in darkness. Endless. Soundless.
And then—
"Asher..."
That voice.
It couldn't be—
"Asher, why do you look like hell?" came the soft, teasing tone again.
He spun around—
Ezekiel.
Whole. Smiling. Dressed in the same stupid black jacket he wore every day, even in the heat. He looked untouched. Unburnt. Alive.
Asher's knees buckled.
He ran forward, nearly tripping over himself, and crashed into him, arms wrapping around Ezekiel so tightly it hurt.
"I thought you were dead," Asher choked out. "You died, you idiot, you died—"
Ezekiel pulled back gently, eyes sad.
"I did."
"No. No—if you're here, I can bring you back. The Book—if it brought me here, it can undo it, right?" Asher was pleading now, frantic. "Just hold on, I'll—"
Ezekiel touched his face.
"Asher... don't."
"Why?!"
"Because it's not really me. This place, this magic—it's feeding off you. It's using me to keep you inside. You're too powerful now. The Book wants you to stay trapped in grief. It wants you to think you can save me."
Asher's breath hitched.
His hands fell away.
"I miss you," he whispered.
"I know. I miss you too. But if you let the Book in... it'll consume you."
"Then what am I supposed to do?" Asher asked, his voice cracking again. "What am I supposed to live for now?"
Ezekiel smiled faintly. "You live because I can't. You fight because I died. You win, Asher, because you still have a future. Don't throw it away chasing ghosts."
And with that—
Ezekiel leaned in, and their foreheads touched.
One last time.
"Tell Jeremy I said he's still an ass, but I still love him, I love him so much that I would miss his touch so badly" Ezekiel whispered, grinning.
And then—
Light.
********
Asher jolted upright with a violent gasp, collapsing backward from the Book's grip. Smoke curled off his skin. The eye had closed.
He lay there, staring at the sky.
Jeremy rushed over, falling to his knees beside him.
"Are you insane? You could've died!"
Asher coughed, face pale. "I saw him."
Jeremy blinked.
"I saw Ezekiel. He told me... not to try bringing him back."
Jeremy looked away, jaw tight. "Sounds like him."
"He said to tell you you're still an ass, but he still loves you so fucking much."
Jeremy gave a shaky laugh, then wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "Yeah. That tracks."
The two sat in silence for a moment—fire still flickering in the distance, but the worst had passed. Only if they know that their worse nightmare was still coming, and this might separate them forever.
Only the Book remained between them, closed now, silent.
Asher stared at it.
"I could've saved him," he whispered.
"No," Jeremy said firmly. "You couldn't. Lamia made the choice. He took Ezekiel. Not you."
"But I was the reason we were all hunted."
"And Ezekiel chose to fight beside you. Like I did. Like we all did. That's what makes us a family."
Asher's hands trembled.
Jeremy placed a hand on his shoulder.
"He's gone, Ash. But not for nothing. Lamia's dead. The dragons are gone. This land can heal."
"And us?" Asher asked. "Can we? And is this war truly over?"
Jeremy didn't answer.
He looked at the horizon.
Then at the Book.
Finally, he whispered: "We spread Ezekiel ash tomorrow. And then we burn that cursed thing."
Asher looked at the Book.
But in his heart… he wasn't sure.
Because in the back of his mind, he could still hear Ezekiel's voice.
Soft.
Faint.
Calling his name.
But even as this passed, as the two began to leave_ the ground erupted, and a familiar figure came out from the ground, looking unkept and tattered.
Then he let out a dark laughter, with his teeth which was bloodied, and looking at a nearby water; his reflection show no other than Lamia.
" You fools, I am immortal dummies well Asher time for the main homework you idiots, Jeremy it's time to use that sword to kill Asher ."