Story Spotlight — “Gifts of the Falseborn”
Arog the Many uncoiled along the barricade, shedding masks like skins. Each face spoke a different tactic; each voice
promised victory. Below, an Apex shape—Mawgnasher—hunted the lane with the patience of drought.
Pathospawn raised a hand. Parasites answered—Vitaworms and Nerveleeches skittered from shattered crates to greet their hosts.
“A lifeline,” it murmured, “if you can afford the pulse.” The first host screamed, then smiled, suddenly stronger.
In the heat shimmer, Braega the Molten stood unmoving, a red sun with a heartbeat. The sand around her glassed over;
a line of Twisted Kin rooted, stone and light hardening into a wall.
Dr Vexil flipped a switch. Unstable counters bloomed like sparks along the ridge. “Just a little more,” he said to no one,
voice shaking with triumph or terror. The Falseborn wore someone else’s smile and stepped forward to collect what the counters were owed.