Sons of a devil-Chapter 52: before the storm

Cain pressed his forehead to hers. "Then I'll keep fighting."

The door creaked.

Everyone stood instantly, weapons drawn. But it was just a deer. Wide-eyed and spooked, it bolted into the woods again.

They all exhaled.

"I'm getting tired of reacting," Eren muttered. "We need to go on the offensive."

Leo nodded. "We'll track her. Hunt her before she strikes again."

Selene stood. "Before you do that... there's something I need to show you."

They followed her outside, into the downpour. She raised her hand, and a soft pulse of golden magic pulsed from her fingertips.

The rain slowed... then stopped. Not everywhere—just around them.

"Okay, that's new," Eren blinked.

Selene pointed ahead, toward a hill just beyond the forest. "This way."

They climbed in silence, reaching the top—where an ancient altar stood. Cracked stone, runes etched in glowing red, and a tree growing directly through its center.

Cain tilted his head. "I've seen this before."

"In your dreams," Selene said. "It's real. And it's tied to you."

Leo stepped forward. "What is it?"

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Selene placed her hand on the altar. "It's the Gate of Judgment. One of three. If Cain touches it... it will awaken more of his inherited power."

Cain hesitated. "What's the price?"

"Nothing ever comes free," Selene said, eyes sad. "But you'll see what your father feared most."

Cain clenched his jaw. Then stepped forward.

He placed his palm on the altar.

Flames erupted.

The world around him blurred—like time itself fractured. He saw flashes.

His birth. His father standing in the shadows. Blood. Fire. Screaming.

Selene—crying.

Eira—falling.

Then...

A battlefield. Leo and Eren lying still. Selene held captive. And Seraphine, laughing.

Cain gasped, yanking his hand back.

Everyone rushed to him.

"Cain!" Selene gripped his shoulders. "What did you see?"

"...The end," he whispered. "Unless we change it."

Leo's fists clenched. "Then we will."

Eren smirked. "Together."

Cain looked at his brothers—his family. And nodded. "We go after Seraphine. But we don't just fight her—we save her, if we can."

Selene nodded, but her gaze was distant. "And if we can't?"

"Then we end it," Cain said.

The rain began again.

But this time, they didn't flinch.

They walked into it, together—sons of a devil, bound by blood, loss, and something even deeper:

Hope.