The moment Evangeline left the Demonsea Abyss, a gut-wrenching pain tore through her body.

Her vision went black, and she nearly collapsed onto the scorched sand.

"Are you all right?!" Coral Cetus shot forward, catching Evangeline’s faltering body. Her voice grew taut when she saw Evangeline’s pale face and sweat-soaked bangs.

Evangeline shook her head, enduring the agonizing pain. She clenched her fist, and the Cold Frost Whip vanished.

She turned to look at the still-unconscious Danton on Finnian Finch’s back. "Danton’s Fintan-formation was interrupted," she told Finnian Finch. "We have to leave The Deep Sea at once. Take us ashore. You should know the way to Zylos, where he has been staying."

Finnian Finch was startled for a moment, then nodded solemnly.

He didn’t know Evangeline, but she had willingly risked everything to save him and the Young Clan Leader. That alone was enough for him to trust her completely.

Finnian Finch and Montague exchanged a knowing glance before quickly swimming toward the surface with Danton.

Coral Cetus looked at Evangeline with concern. "You look terrible. Are you injured?"

The Demonsea Abyss was Siren territory, after all, and they were said to be cursed creatures of legend.

Evangeline shook her head, her expression calm as she looked at Coral Cetus. "I’m not injured. I’m about to have a child."

As soon as she finished speaking, her crimson Fintan stirred a wave, and in an instant, she had caught up to Finnian Finch and Montague.

Coral Cetus froze, her eyelashes fluttering. She reached out and grabbed Stellan and Buck.

"Wait... what did she just say? She’s going to have a what?"

Stellan’s Adam’s apple bobbed, his eyes glinting. "She’s going to have a child."

"AHHH—" Coral Cetus let out a strangled shriek, her voice cracking at the end.

*

Evangeline followed Finnian Finch and Montague. The moment she broke the surface, cold rain pattered onto her pale cheeks. Her scarlet Fintan faded away, and she stumbled onto the slippery rocks.

Evangeline pushed the Spiritual Medicine between Danton’s lips, her fingertips trembling. "Get Danton inside."

Danton had been living on Zylos for some time. His shelter was a pitifully crude wooden structure, and the salty sea breeze gusted in through the cracks.

But on a desolate island like Zylos, even a leaky, drafty hut was a rare sanctuary.

Once ashore, Montague and Finnian Finch shifted into their human forms and, following Evangeline’s command, carried Danton into the small wooden hut.

Evangeline had no time to take in Zylos. She followed them into the hut and looked at Finnian Finch and Montague, her voice laced with pained gasps. "Go back and tell Rhea... wait..."

Her brow furrowed in pain. She bent over, pressing a hand to her abdomen as cold sweat beaded on her skin. She took one deep breath after another.

"Tell Rhea that when it’s time to reforge Danton’s Star Pattern, I will not stand in his way."

"Reforge his Star Pattern?!" Finnian Finch shuddered, his knuckles turning white. He stared at Evangeline in disbelief, only to hear her let out a muffled groan and collapse beside Danton.

Montague’s expression changed drastically when he saw the faint red fluid spreading down Evangeline’s pale legs. "You’re..." 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Evangeline clenched her jaw. With a lift of her hand, a gust of wind pushed both Montague and Finnian Finch out of the hut.

A shimmering barrier of light immediately enveloped the hut, shielding the drafty structure from the elements and blocking their view. In the lulls between waves crashing on the shore, her suppressed moans of pain found their way to their ears.

"Montague, what do we do now...?" Finnian Finch’s face was pale, his throat tight. He had no idea what to do.

Just then, the sound of frantic footsteps came from the shore.

Coral Cetus rushed over, her long pink hair still dripping. She stared at the hut, now enveloped in a shimmering light. Her fingers stopped just half an inch from the glistening barrier, not daring to touch it.

She turned to Montague and Finnian Finch and asked desperately, "Evangeline... how is she?"

Stellan stepped forward and gently put a hand on Coral Cetus’s trembling shoulder.

Montague shook his head. He patted Stellan on the shoulder and said gravely, "Finnian Finch is injured, so I have to take him back to the clan. Stellan, you stay here and watch over the Young Clan Leader..."

He paused, his gaze drifting to the shimmering hut. His Adam’s apple bobbed. "...And her," he added in a low voice.

Stellan nodded silently, watching as Montague and Finnian Finch departed Zylos.

Broken gasps occasionally escaped the hut, and Coral Cetus paced back and forth in a panic.

She gripped Stellan’s arm, worried. "Evangeline will be all right, won’t she?"

Stellan didn’t answer, but Buck said gruffly, "She’s so powerful. Of course she’ll be fine."

Coral Cetus nodded vigorously, flinging drops of water from her hair. "Right. She made it out of the Demonsea Abyss. She has to be fine. She’ll be fine..."

Her voice trailed off, but her lips were trembling.

*

Evangeline leaned weakly against Danton, her hair completely soaked with cold sweat.

She listened to Coral Cetus’s chirping from outside and kept taking deep breaths. Through wave after wave of agony, she gripped Danton’s wrist. ’It’s not my first time giving birth, but the pain is always so horribly real.’

Danton’s eyelashes fluttered. The dilapidated hut was reflected in his azure eyes.

He felt a weight on his wrist and heard suppressed moans of pain. Dazed, he smelled the salty, damp sea breeze, now tinged with the scent of blood. He struggled to turn his head and saw a blurry, slender figure.

Her hand was clamped around his wrist. Her dark hair was a mess, and the familiar Contract Mark on her hip was partially visible.

Danton snapped back to his senses, sitting up abruptly on the bed of Merweave Silk leaves.

His slender knuckles clenched. His pale face was a mask of shock. ’I made a desperate gamble and went to the Demonsea Abyss... so why am I here with Evangeline? This is completely absurd.’

Evangeline suddenly turned her head. Danton was pushing himself up to look at her. His skin was a sickly, cold white, and his long, azure hair clung wetly to his neck like sea-drenched satin.

Though his face was pale and gaunt, it couldn’t conceal his exquisite, decadent beauty.

"...You’re awake?" Evangeline forced a smile through her gasps, but the words were cut off by another muffled groan.

As a tide of agony washed over her, Evangeline suddenly clenched Danton’s wrist. With a suppressed cry of pain, a fist-sized egg slid out onto the Merweave Silk.

Danton froze, his pale blue eyes reflecting the gently pulsing egg.

Evangeline’s chest heaved as she panted. She looked down at the iridescent egg. Rainbow colors flowed slowly across its shell, which would occasionally gleam with a pearlescent luster.

Her brow twitched. ’As I thought,’ she mused. ’It’s The Everwake’s.’

’Giving birth after only a month... judging by the timing, only The Swarm could be responsible for that.’

Evangeline reached out and cradled the rainbow-colored egg. A faint pulse emanated from within the fist-sized shell. Though she couldn’t see inside, she could sense the incredibly fragile little life it held.

She lowered her gaze, took out several precious stalks of Spiritual Medicine, and carefully ground them in her palm until they formed a glistening Spiritual Liquid. With a light touch of her finger, the liquid seeped slowly into the eggshell, and the iridescent surface immediately grew warm.

’This child suffered a great ordeal while still in my womb. It used all its strength just to struggle into existence.’