Mold patches squirmed like living things in torchlight. Alyssa's severed pinky swung from chains, blood droplets crystallizing into micro-ravens mid-fall. She stared at three-finger-width moonlight through vents, new metallic scales behind her ears devouring azurite dust—Layne's upgraded breakfast seasoning.
"Seventh attempt?" The guard's silver dagger stabbed her collarbone brand, Evelyn's monogram glowing phosphorescent on the hilt. "Last pigeon exploded past the clocktower..."
Moonflare hatchling detonated in Alyssa's throat, deliberately smoke-tainted. As the guard sneered closer, she headbutted his nose—metal scales flaying skin embedded with micro-gears that morphed into probe spiders.
"Quick study." She chewed blood scabs, grinding chains against stone. Azurite ignition mutated Moonflare into hawk form, blasting vent grates. Moonlight needles pierced her pupils, revealing Kane's phantom decoding her week-old blood sigils across subterranean rivers.
Severed nerve pain peaked. Alyssa clamped teeth on her left pinky, Layne's tracking sigil screeching in dentin. Right index finger dipped in arterial blood sketched Wolf Mother's raven pact—unfinished fifth tail feather dissolved by black sludge oozing from walls.
"Forgot the counterspell, darling." Layne's voice seeped through mucilage, face bloating on the wall. Mechanical tentacles erupted, ensnaring her ankles. "Summoning requires soul currency, and you..."
Moonflare phoenix erupted through the ceiling. Moonlight revealed her blood's silver threads tainted violet. Regenerating pinky stub hardened into chain-links, welding her to the pillar.
"Progress." Layne materialized from shadows, clockwork fingers twirling her molar. "Using my creations against me?" His kaleidoscope pupils projected raven-sniping futures: "Kane's team steps into minefield in seventeen. You..."
Alyssa rammed the severed digit into stone fissures. Azurite screech shifted Moonflare gunmetal-red. Phoenix tail feathers transmuted mold into blood-eyed ravens. She tore reopened wrist wounds, feeding gear-studded blood to the flock:
"Tell Kane. River path."
Ravens shattered the south wall. Layne's spinal sonic weapon melted half into molten steel. Survivors' pupils glowed with eclipse patterns—Alyssa's retinas synced with avian vision. She watched blood-charted navigation burn onto feathers as Kane's silver arrow pierced the north lab window, her childhood wolf-tooth pendant tied to the shaft.
"Package received." Layne crushed the molar, microchip displaying Kane's heartbeat. "Guess how many Nightwalkers infiltrate the rescue team?"
Underground rivers flooded the dungeon. Alyssa grasped a raven corpse mid-float, beak engraved with miniature astral maps matching Kane's mother's earring. Final Moonflare surge revealed future fragments in phoenix eyes: Volume Five's stormy night, the same mechanized raven delivering bloodied wedding rings to Kane.
"Cycle recommences." Layne's reflection warped in vortices, mechanical fingers prying her new scales. "This time remind Kane..."
Raven shrieks drowned his words. Drowning, Alyssa stabbed her neck brand with the severed digit—inverse sigils activating as all raven pupils projected Layne's mechanical heart schematics.