Gracie felt like a massive weight was placed on her shoulder the minute she said that, as if taking that responsibility away from Hannah.

But Hannah did not at all seem uneased, her mouth agape with horror as she stepped closer to her. "Gracie, I can't ask you to do that." She pleaded.

She shook her head. "Well, you're not asking." She insisted. "I'm doing it. That's it."

CJ felt frozen, eyes darting between the two. He didn't want either of them to do this- it was crazy and stupid and terrible. He opened his mouth to speak, but he knew that Hannah - ridiculously stubborn Hannah - would refuse any alternative that included him or Gracie or anyone replacing her.

"No!" Hannah's eyes lit up, a hue of red lining her gaze as her voice echoed through the room. "You can't do this!" She tried to beg, plead, anything. She couldn't lose anyone- she couldn't...

Gracie winced, but folded her arms across her chest. "No. I'm not letting you do this." She pointed to the Cauldron. "You finally have a chance, and I'm not letting you let go of it." She was refusing to cry over this, she had to be strong.

It felt like an impossible task- it was too much to let happen. Let alone let Gracie do- Gracie, impossible, crazy, wonderful Gracie. Why did it have to be her? That wasn't fair.

"If you won't let me do this for you, let me do this for me- let me prove my own father wrong, like you'll get to!" She begged, reaching over and grasped Hannah's hand. "Please."

It felt impossible to ask. To answer. To even think of.

CJ could see both of the whole world crumbling before his eyes. His only two friends, and one of them was going to be sacrificed to the Cauldron that ruined what little they had of their lives. But slowly, Hannah stepped back- a silent, agonized permission. Gracie let go of Hannah's arm and nodded.

He couldn't stand there, he had to do something- anything. He-

Gracie tensed for a moment before melting into the hug. A bitter laugh, then, "CJ, don't get too sad now. You'll be fine without..." Hannah joined the hug. "Without me..."

Embry took a small step closer, a hesitant glaze in their eyes. Gracie looked at them and smiled faintly. "Yea, it's alright..." Embry joined the hug without a word.

Sahira, Ray, and Twyla looked at each other, feeling a bit lost in this mess. It was somber and strange, as if losing something that wasn't exactly there. As if losing a chance of something.

After a bit, Gracie pulled herself away from the hug, breaking in a reluctant haze. She took a deep breath. "Well, in I go!" She tried sounding enthusiastic, but her voice broke as her throat closed up.

A beat of silence.

Then CJ whispered something that only Gracie could hear, and it made her heart stop.

"No eres un 'idioso'..."

You're not an idiot.

She broke into a mortified, but... happy smile. "Gracias..." She whispered back.

Gracie looked back to the Cauldron, the darkness pulling and beckoning closer and closer. As if urging her inside as the shadows tried to reach for her. She slowly stepped towards it, lips pressing into a thin line. The closer she got, the stronger the darkness felt. The stronger the gravity of the magic felt.

Now, right in front of the Cauldron, she looked inside of it. Something inside of it was bubbling, a sick shade of green that churned and swirled. She didn't know if this would hurt, or what would happen to her after.

After a body went into the Cauldron, was it still... there? Like, really there.

She didn't know. Maybe that scared her more than anything else did. But with another shaky breath, she resigned herself to this fate. Whatever it would be.

Gracie placed a hand on the rim, and she immediately felt the pull. It was like hands grasping her arm and tugging her into the Cauldron.

Was that all the other bodies?

One last look at them. Their faces looked blurred.

The tugging became too much- too strong and persistent, and she gave up the last bit of her resistance. And she was pulled into the Cauldron.

Silence.

Everything was silent.

For just a second.

The Cauldron seemed to come alive, the green bubbling within it boiling over and whistling with a frenzied fury. The shadows spilled further into the room as the winds picked up within the room. The other foundations snapped first, collapsing along with the rest of the ceiling of the room. The others scattered to dodge the falling rubble. All while the Cauldron's magic started to pull everything closer to it, dragging it to the maw.

Like it was a wild beast, and it was hungry.

It was starving.

It had been locked away for longer than any of them had even been alive.

Unused. Unfed. Unforgiving.

So now, it was time to eat- and it wasn't stopping. It wouldn't stop until it wasn't hungry anymore.

The winds tore up the dirt on the floor, ripping into the stones of the foundation. The door that had been shutting it away was ripped off its hinges and was consumed as well.

"Everyone get out!" Sahira ordered, her voice cutting through the cracks and whistling of the winds. She reached for Twyla's arm and pulled her, managing to shove her through the doorway. Twyla felt her bones rattle, ready to rip apart from the winds. So she forced herself out of the room and started to run through the halls. She looked back to see who was following her.

Hannah felt almost frozen, her feet fixed on the floor as her hands clung to the rubble. Her hair whipped around, blinding her slightly as she watched the scene.

"Hannah!" CJ called her name, making her instinctively look over. "Come on, get out!"

Hannah nodded swiftly. "I'll leave when everyone else is out!" She decided, shouting back to CJ. CJ hesitated, but nodded back. Without another word, he went back to the others, helping them get out. Sahira lingered for a bit longer, probably for the same reason as Hannah.

Then, a crack could be heard.

The bones that had been holding up The Horned King, trapping him in place, crumbled. Maybe the magic couldn't hold together anymore, or maybe the winds were too strong for it. The King fell to the ground and the Cauldron immediately set its figurative eyes on him. The winds picked up more, trying to drag the demon closer and closer.

With a rueful, angry scream, he dragged his way up to his feet. His clawed hands attached to the rubble and his red eyes flicked up to Sahira and Hannah.

Sahira felt nauseous seeing him closer up, practically smelling the rot on the peeling skin. The wind was ripping off pieces of his flakey face, tearing at the carcass of the man before her.

A hand flew at Sahira, grasping onto their collar. A horrifying display of dragging someone into the Cauldron with him. Sahira shrieked, clawing at his hand as they tried to pry him away from them. They kicked and clawed and shouted.

Then Hannah grabbed her and the two managed to wretch away from the King's grasp. Hannah shoved Sahira through the door, and shouted something that they couldn't quite hear out of shock. Then a shout.

"FOOLISH CHILD!" The Horned King screeched, his claws digging into Hannah's wrist. His eyes bore into hers as she stared up at him in fear. "IF I'LL BE DESTROYED, I'LL TAKE ALL MY MAGIC WITH ME!"

He gave a swift tug, trying to jar her from her grasp on the doorframe. Both of them were still being pulled by the Cauldron. There was nowhere for her to go.

His grip broke into the skin of her wrist, black fog spilling out of the injury. His other hand crawled up to her forearm.

"Fragile child. I should've killed you the minute I realized what you were." The King growled.

Hannah's eyes shot open. 'Fragile'.

That was it.

She pulled her arm, gritting her teeth and shutting her eyes tightly. She could feel the magic that formed her muscles and bones strain.

The King pulled as well, the combined force making a ring of skin tear apart around her elbow. More smog poured out into the air, and Hannah already felt lightheaded.

But she could resist just a bit longer for-

CRACK.

Hannah felt herself fall backwards, as if cut loose from a rope. The Horned King stumbled back, dropping what he'd been grasping onto in an attempt to drag Hannah with him into the Cauldron.

She suppressed a scream of pain, her back hitting the floor as her gaze blurred over. The demoness looked down to her... where her arm had been. She took a sharp breath, looking back to her father.

The Horned King shrieked and yowled, stumbling as the winds dragged him closer to the Cauldron. He clawed at the rubble and floor and the walls until he fell over. Then there was nothing he could do.

The Cauldron pulled him closer and closer, the invisible hands grasping him and shoving him right to the rim. He grabbed onto the rim, bellowing a horrified scream.

The force of the Cauldron's magic tore his skin. Then muscles. Then bones.

Until there was nothing, and the Cauldron went silent. And the winds died.

Satisfied. Full.