---
Azhara looked down at her new form. Then up at him. "I feel… whole."
Kai didn't speak at first. He looked her over, slowly, like a beast sizing up a rival… or perhaps a prize.
His eyes traveled from the way her chitin hugged her hips, to the elegant curvature of her armored chest, now lifted like a throne of obsidian. Her legs were still thick with muscle, but now reinforced with insect-forged beauty. Every line sharpened, every shadow glowing. Her antennae twitched in perfect resonance, instinctively bonded like part of his hive.
Her wildness wasn't gone. But it had been refined. She didn't look like prey anymore. She looked like a beauty.
"You look… beautiful this way," he said, low and honest.
Her ears twitched. She blinked. That was the best praise she'd ever heard from anyone.
Kai turned to the Rift, voice flat but charged with finality.
"Let's move."
[System Warning: Rift Instability Critical – 00:17 Remaining]
Kai stepped toward the portal.
