Chapter 17 The Astral Breach

The air inside the clinic turned bone-chillingly cold, a frost blooming across the glass jars of the laboratory as Scarlett felt her physical form become an anchor of dead weight. Her consciousness, however, was vibrating with a frantic energy, like a moth beating its wings against a silken cocoon.

"Caleb, stop!" she croaked, forcing her body to sit up. Her voice was a dry rasp, but it carried an authority that cut through the heavy air.

Caleb froze at the doorway. He turned, his golden eyes burning with a wild, fractured light—a mix of terror and the raw, unadulterated violence born from the thought of losing her. He had already lost his throne, his memories, and his dignity; he would not let the universe take her too. "The doctor said you need the residue of the Lunar Key. Julian has it. I will take it. It is simple."

"It isn't simple. That building is a fortress of silver-wire traps and mental-static arrays specifically designed to lobotomize a Lycan," Scarlett said, reaching into her collar and pulling out a small, blank jade pendant she always wore. "If you charge in there blindly, you will become nothing more than a silver-filled target, and I will lose my only chance to stay in this world."

Caleb’s frame went rigid. He let go of the door handle, which had already begun to deform under his grip, and strode back to the bed. He loomed over her, his presence suffocating. "Then what would you have me do? Watch you flicker out like a spent candle?"

"Take my soul with you," Scarlett whispered. She bit the tip of her tongue, the metallic tang of blood filling her mouth, and spat a spray of essence onto the jade pendant. The stone instantly flared with a warm, pulsing green light. "I will perform the Astral Projection. My consciousness will hitch a ride within this jade. I can see the runes and traps that your eyes cannot, and I can provide a spiritual shield against Julian's hexes."

"It will burn through your remaining life-force," Caleb growled, his hand hovering over her face but unable to touch the spiritual fire she was igniting.

"If we don't get that fragment, I won't survive the night anyway." Scarlett looked him directly in the eye, her spirit already beginning to drift. "Caleb, this is our only winning move."

With the doctor’s assistance, Scarlett lit a stick of Soul-Settling Incense. As the aromatic smoke curled around her, she felt a violent tearing sensation. Her body slumped back onto the pillows, pale and barely breathing, while her spirit rose—a translucent, shimmering form glowing with a faint golden hue.

Caleb reached out, his hand passing through the cold, ethereal mist of her spirit. His expression was a devastating mix of reverence, heartbreak, and a dark, obsessive possessiveness.

"I will bring you back, Scarlett. I swear it on my blood," he vowed.

Scarlett transformed into a streak of light, diving into the jade pendant hanging around Caleb’s neck.

The infiltration began.

The Thorne branch headquarters was a monolith of black glass and steel rising out of the neon jungle of the South. Caleb moved like a shadow within a shadow, a silver-white blur navigating the ventilation shafts and darkened corridors.

'Thirty degrees to the left. Three high-frequency ultrasonic barriers,' Scarlett’s voice echoed directly in Caleb’s mind. This soul-level communication was clearer than any radio; she could feel the frantic thudding of his heart, the roar of the wolf within him, and the desperate hunger for the kill.

'I see them,' Caleb responded internally, his movements becoming more fluid, more ghost-like.

As they reached the vault door on the top floor, the air suddenly filled with a sickly purple mist.

'Don't breathe! It’s Soul-Shredding Vapor!' Scarlett screamed in his mind. 'It’s designed to dissolve astral forms!'

She instantly funneled her remaining power through the jade, creating a shimmering golden dome around Caleb. However, the effort of protecting him across two different planes of existence caused her astral form to flicker and crack.

'Scarlett, pull back!' Caleb felt her agony. He let out a guttural roar, his body finally undergoing a partial, violent transformation. His muscles tore through his tactical gear, his claws becoming translucent blades of moonlight, and his spine arched with a terrifying power.

He was done hiding.

"Julian Thorne!" Caleb’s voice shattered the reinforced glass of the nearby windows. He struck the titanium vault door with a single, bone-crushing blow, tearing it from its hinges.

Inside, Julian sat calmly in a high-backed leather chair, spinning a glowing orb of translucent moonlight—a fragment of the Lunar Key.

"I knew you’d come back, my dear 'brother-in-law'," Julian sneered, turning his chair. His cold eyes looked past Caleb, focusing sharply on the glowing jade pendant. "And you brought my 'half-dead' sister with you. What a touching family reunion."

'Caleb, he’s stalling! He’s activating the building’s self-destruct sequence!' Scarlett shrieked through the bond.

Caleb didn't waste words. The floor beneath his feet exploded into rubble as he launched himself at Julian like a silver hurricane.

"Give me the reason she stays in this world," Caleb’s claws locked around Julian’s throat, his eyes now completely consumed by a golden, divine fury. "Or I will tear your soul out and feed it to the void!"

In that moment, Scarlett’s spirit felt a profound resonance. She realized Caleb’s love wasn't just a simple desire anymore; it was an obsession powerful enough to rewrite the rules of the world. Ignoring the danger of fading away, she manifested partially, her translucent hand overlapping Caleb’s on Julian’s throat.

The ancient Eastern Tao and the primal Western violence fused into a single, blinding force.

The Lunar Key fragment let out a sharp, resonant chime, as if finally recognizing the two souls who had dared to cross worlds to find each other.