The grove shifted as the Sun and Moon shared the sky. Both halves of the statue animated, their movements halting but unified. Their shared legs carried them forward as they advanced toward Kimaris, the ground trembling beneath the combined weight of their steps.

  Kimaris took to the air, its massive wings scattering embers and ash with every beat. The devil reared back, unleashing a torrent of flame that set the grove alight. The ancient trees burned, their twisting branches collapsing under the heat. The flames climbed the wooden form of the statue, charring its bark, but Faust and Faouzia pressed on.

  “Left!” Faust called, their legs pivoting in unison to dodge a molten hoof strike.

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  “Watch the wings!” Faouzia snapped, guiding their movements as Kimaris dove again. She raised her arm, twisting the earth beneath them to tangle the devil’s legs, slowing its next charge.

  The beast landed heavily, its molten body cracking the earth beneath it. It reared up, wings spread wide, as lava poured from its hooves. The molten flow surged toward the statue, the heat searing through its bark. Faust and Faouzia stumbled, their wooden joints creaking under the strain.

  “Hold—” Faouzia began, but Kimaris struck too hard. The lava breached the statue’s base, seeping into the cracks of the wood. The flames consumed them in an instant, the oakwood and acacia splitting apart with a deafening crack.

  Faust and Faouzia’s voices echoed together—one last cry, not of pain but of disbelief—as the statue collapsed into ash.