The phoenix's scream tore through the arena like a bde of pure fire. Kael's breath caught in his throat as the massive creature reared back, its half-bound wings unfurling in a storm of embers and molten feathers. The chains holding it snapped like twigs, whipping through the air and embedding themselves in stone. The crowd's cheers turned to shrieks as the first wave of heat rolled outward, scorching the front rows of seats.

  The Moon Fox dug its cws into Kael's shoulder. *"We are underpaid for this."*

  Beside them, the Chaos Panda's usual dopey expression had vanished. Its glow—normally a faint, pulsing red—now burned gold, its dark eyes locked onto the phoenix with an intensity Kael had never seen before.

  Then the cultists struck. From hidden doors around the arena, robed figures emerged, their crimson-scale insignias fshing as they raised their hands in unison. Their chanting filled the air, discordant and sharp, and the phoenix shrieked again, its movements becoming erratic.

  "They're trying to control it," Lia hissed, grabbing Kael's arm. Her fingers trembled. "It's not working."

  Kael barely had time to process that before Ron was there, his griffin beast snarling at his side. "Move. Now."

  Lia's eyes narrowed. "Since when are you helping?"

  Ron's jaw tightened. "Since that thing killed my family."

  They retreated to the ruined contestant tunnels beneath the arena, the phoenix's cries shaking dust from the ceiling. Lia pressed her back against the wall, her breath coming fast.

  "I know these people," she admitted, voice low. "The Crimson Scale. I was—" She hesitated, then spat the words out like poison. "I was supposed to be one of them. Ran when I was twelve."

  Kael stared at her. The pieces clicked—her knowledge of magic, her wariness around certain symbols. Before he could respond, Ron cut in.

  "That phoenix isn't the first. They've been trying to bind S-rank beasts for years." His gaze flicked to Kael. "The one that killed you before? That was their first success."

  The fox, perched on a broken pilr, flicked its tail. *"Lovely. So how do we kill it?"*

  The panda, still glowing gold, made a low noise in its throat. Not its usual dopey grumble—something deeper, almost purposeful.

  Kael exhaled. "We don't. We save it."

  The arena was a warzone. The phoenix's fmes had turned the sand to gss, its wings sending gales of superheated air in every direction. Cultists y unconscious or fleeing, their control attempts failed. The few remaining competitors had either joined the fight or bolted.

  The fox leapt onto a crumbling arch, its illusions spreading like water. Dozens of false exits shimmered into existence, guiding panicked spectators to safety. One particurly brave child paused to pat the fox's head before running.

  *"I allow no one to perish before witnessing my beauty,"* the fox sniffed.

  The phoenix turned its burning gaze on Kael—and recognition fred in its eyes.

  *"YOU."* Its voice was fire given sound.

  Kael's vision blurred. Memories not his own surged forward—a storm-lit battlefield. The Beast King standing before a wounded phoenix, hand outstretched—not to strike, but to heal. Then the chanting, the chains, the betrayal—

  The panda moved. It wasn't its usual zy waddle. It charged, golden light trailing behind it like a comet. The phoenix struck with a whip of fme—but the fire didn't burn. The panda absorbed it, its glow fring brighter, and then it headbutted the phoenix straight into the arena's unstable magic core.

  The explosion sent Kael flying.

  Smoke and sparks swirled around him as he struggled to his knees. The world flickered—he was the Beast King again, watching as the cult's first bound phoenix tore through his allies. Not out of rage, but pain. It hadn't wanted this. None of them had.

  *"They're not weapons,"* he rasped, blood on his lips. *"They're souls."*

  The vision shattered as Lia screamed. She'd been trying to disable the arena's reinforcement wards—but two cultists had her, dragging her toward a half-colpsed tunnel.

  "KAEL!"

  He lunged forward—only for Ron to yank him back as a chunk of ceiling crashed between them.

  "Go!" Ron shoved him toward the panda and fox. "Find the Storm Drake! It's the only thing that can stop this!"

  Kael's protest died as the knight turned, sword fshing, to hold off the cultists.

  The fox bit Kael's sleeve, dragging him toward an intact tunnel. *"We need to move. Now."*

  The panda, now glowing so brightly it hurt to look at, gave one st gnce at the phoenix—still trapped in the magic core's backsh—before following.

  As they fled into the tunnels, Kael's hands clenched.

  "We're getting her back."

  The fox didn't argue. For once.