Sea of Unraveling Hours

The ground split open with a thunderous crack, sending Mira and her team stumbling back from the collapsing vortex. The Severer's form, once vast and menacing, was now a tattered wraith, dissolving into the shadows that clung desperately to the ruins. Its chorus of endings faded to a ragged whisper, but the victory felt hollow.

From the widening fissure, a new darkness oozed—thicker and more ancient than anything they had faced. It pulsed with a deep, blood-red light, casting the world in a sickly glow. The very air trembled with its hunger.

Kiran steadied Mira as she caught her breath. "What is that?"

Linh's voice was shaky, her eyes locked on her scanner. "It's not the Severer. This… this predates even the tapestry. The readings are off the charts."

Felix fired a warning shot into the darkness, but the energy was swallowed whole. "It's like shooting into the void. Nothing comes back."

Arjun gripped his weapon tighter, his stance defensive. "We need to fall back—regroup at the lab and figure out what we're really up against."

But Mira shook her head, her gaze fixed on the red-lit abyss. "If we run, it'll follow. This is what's been festering beneath the fractures, feeding on everything the Severer weakened."

The knot at her belt pulsed in warning, the golden and blue threads now tinged with crimson. Mira felt a chill crawl up her spine as a voice—deeper, more primal than the Severer's—echoed in her mind.

"You patch wounds, little Weavers. But you cannot heal what was never whole. I am the Origin Hunger. I am the first unraveling."

The team staggered as the voice reverberated through their bones. Memories flickered at the edges of their minds—childhood fears, ancient nightmares, the raw terror of oblivion.

Linh clutched her head, struggling to focus. "It's attacking our memories—trying to erase us from the tapestry itself!"

Mira gritted her teeth, forcing herself to stand tall. She reached for the Thread of Renewal, feeling its warmth struggle against the cold hunger below. "We have to anchor ourselves—hold on to who we are, to each other. That's the only way to resist."

With trembling hands, the team formed a circle, each gripping the next's arm. Mira channeled the knot's energy, focusing on the memories that bound them: laughter in the lab, the pain of loss, the hope that had driven them this far.

The Origin Hunger recoiled, its red light flickering as the Weavers' unity pushed back against the void. For a moment, the darkness thinned, revealing glimpses of the tapestry's deeper layers—fractured, but not yet lost.

Felix managed a shaky grin. "Guess it doesn't like teamwork."

But the victory was fleeting. The fissure widened, and tendrils of red shadow lashed out, seeking to tear the circle apart.

Mira's vision blurred as the world spun around her. She saw Elara's face, serene and resolute, whispering from the heart of the tapestry:

"Remember, Mira. The weave is strongest where it has been mended."

With renewed determination, Mira called out to her team. "We're not just fighting for the tapestry. We're fighting for every memory, every life. Hold on—don't let go!"

The knot flared, golden and blue surging against the red. The Weavers' memories blazed like stars in the darkness, anchoring them as the Origin Hunger howled in frustration.

But as the battle raged, Mira sensed a terrible truth: to truly mend the tapestry, a sacrifice greater than any before might be required.

And the Origin Hunger would not be denied easily.