The corridor beyond the marble doorway pulsed with ancient magic, the runes along its walls glowing faintly as Lena, Cassian, Dorian, and Idris rushed through. The air was thick with tension, the weight of Selene’s presence pressing down on them like a storm about to break.Lena’s breath came fast, her chest still aching from the Oath’s mark. Selene’s voice still echoed in her head—cold, taunting, a promise of destruction.“We need to move faster,” Idris urged, glancing back. “She’s trying to anchor herself here. If she does, there won’t be a safe way out.”“Then what the hell are we running toward?” Dorian shot back. “Because I’d love to know the plan before we get obliterated.”“We regroup at the sanctum’s edge,” Idris said. “From there, we can move through the Shadow Veil—”The walls shook.A high-pitched screech ripped through the corridor, unnatural and grating. Lena’s blood ran cold.“She’s already breaking through,” Cassian muttered, drawing his sword.Lena felt it too. The mag
Silence hung in the sanctum, thick with tension. The swirling silver mist of the Shadow Veil crackled behind the warrior as he stepped forward, the firelight from his blade casting flickering shadows against the dark stone walls.Selene stood rigid, her violet eyes locked onto him, her confidence momentarily shattered.Lena barely dared to breathe.The warrior’s presence was otherworldly. Magic rolled off him in waves, an ancient power that seemed to hum in tune with the sanctum itself. His armour—black with silver etchings—was unlike anything Lena had ever seen. And the blade in his grip… it burned with an unearthly golden fire, its heat tangible even from where she stood.Selene’s lips parted, her voice a whisper.“You shouldn’t exist.”The warrior tilted his head, his helm gleaming in the dim light. “And yet, here I stand.”Lena’s pulse pounded in her ears. Who was he? How did he know Selene? And why did she, the unshakable Shadow Queen, look afraid?Selene recovered quickly, her e
Lena awoke to the sensation of weightlessness.Her body drifted, caught between currents of golden fire and endless shadow. The air was thick—charged with magic—yet there was no ground, no sky. Just the strange, shifting void that surrounded her.Panic clawed at her chest. Where was she? Where were the others?She turned sharply, searching—And there, not far from her, Cassian floated, his dark cloak rippling in the unseen winds. His sword was still clutched tightly in his grasp, the silver blade reflecting the strange, flickering glow around them.“Cassian!” Lena called out, but her voice barely carried. It was swallowed by the void, dissipating as if the space itself refused to sound.Cassian’s eyes snapped open, and he immediately twisted in midair, reaching for her.Their hands met, fingers locking.The moment their skin touched, a shockwave rippled outward—light and darkness colliding in a crackling burst.A deep rumble echoed from somewhere in the abyss.Lena flinched as the spa
The sanctum’s ruins stood silent, yet the air crackled with the tension of an impending storm.Lena’s heart pounded against her ribs as she locked eyes with Selene.The Shadow Queen was battered, her silver hair streaked with blood, and her dark armour cracked from the earlier battle. But the power rolling off her was still suffocating. The Rift had wounded her, but it hadn’t broken her.And the way she looked at them now—Pure, unrestrained fury.“Miss me?” Selene’s voice was smooth, almost amused, but there was a darkness beneath it. A promise of retribution.Cassian stepped forward, his silver sword gleaming in the fractured light. “You lost, Selene.” His voice was calm, but his stance was rigid, ready. “Stand down.”Selene chuckled—a low, unsettling sound. “Lost?” She tilted her head, her violet eyes flashing. “You think this is over?”Dark energy crackled at her fingertips, the air bending and warping around her.Lena’s fingers twitched toward her own blade. “We sent you through
The silence after Selene’s words was suffocating.Lena felt the weight of her gaze like a curse, an echo of the Rift still pulsing in her veins.The sanctum around them was barely standing, the ancient stone walls cracked and crumbling, bathed in the dim glow of Idris’s golden sigils. The air was thick with lingering magic, both light and dark, pressing against her skin.She could still hear the whisper of the Rift in her mind, a faint, humming presence—like it was waiting. Watching.We are not free.Cassian stood rigid beside her, his silver sword still raised. The flickering light caught on his armour, but it did nothing to mask the tension in his stance.He felt it, too.Lena swallowed hard. “What do you mean the Rift isn’t finished with us?”Selene’s smile was slow, deliberate. “You touched it, little one.” Her violet eyes gleamed. “And the Rift does not forget its own.”Lena’s pulse hammered.Dorian scoffed, daggers still clutched in his hands. “Right. Because you’re such a relia
The night pressed against them, thick and unnerving.Lena’s breath misted in the cold air as she stood among the ruins of the sanctum, her pulse still hammering from their escape. The Rift’s whisper clung to her skin like an unseen brand, a haunting presence she couldn’t shake.She turned to Cassian. He was rigid, his silver sword still unsheathed, his jaw set in a way that told her he felt it too.The Rift had left its mark.And it wasn’t done with them.Dorian exhaled, running a hand through his dark hair. “We need to move. Staying here feels like a really bad idea.”Idris, still drained from holding Selene’s containment spell, nodded. “The Rift’s energy is still lingering. We don’t know what it might trigger if we stay too long.”Cassian finally sheathed his sword. “We regroup at the Hollow Keep. We need answers.”Lena swallowed hard and gave a small nod. The Hollow Keep—an ancient stronghold untouched by most. If there was any place to figure out what had happened to them, it was
Chapter 47: Whispers of the RiftThe air grew heavier the closer they got to the Hollow Keep.Lena could feel it pressing against her skin—an unseen force that curled around her like a shadow, whispering in a voice only she could hear. It wasn’t loud, not yet, but it was insistent. A pull that throbbed deep in her bones, beckoning her toward something she didn’t understand.She clenched her fists and kept moving.They had been walking for hours, weaving through the ruins of the ancient city that surrounded the Hollow Keep. Once, this place had been alive—thriving with people, with magic, with power. Now, it was nothing more than an abandoned skeleton, left to be swallowed by time.Dorian exhaled sharply as he kicked aside a loose stone. “I don’t like this.”“You’ve made that very clear,” Idris muttered.Dorian shot him a glare. “You’re telling me you don’t feel it? The way the air shifts, the way the ground feels wrong? Something’s waiting for us.”Idris sighed. “Of course, I feel it.
Darkness swallowed Lena whole.It was not the absence of light nor a void of colour—it was something deeper. A darkness that pulsed, that breathed. It wrapped around her like unseen tendrils, curling into her thoughts, whispering in a language she almost understood.She didn’t know if she was standing, falling, or floating.She only knew one thing.She was not alone.A presence lingered in the abyss with her. It was vast, endless—a force that stretched beyond the confines of reality.And it was watching her.Let me in.The voice—neither male nor female, neither kind nor cruel—echoed through her mind, sending tremors through her very soul.Lena gasped, forcing herself to move, to struggle. But there was no ground beneath her, no direction in which to flee.The Rift had claimed her.And it was hungry.She clenched her fists, willing herself to fight back.“I don’t belong to you,” she growled.A sound—low and amused—rippled through the darkness.Don’t you?Lena’s pulse pounded in her ear
The chamber erupted into movement. The hooded figures lunged forward, their robes billowing as unnatural shadows twisted around them. Cassian was the first to engage, his sword flashing as he met one of the attackers head-on. The clang of steel rang through the temple, but something was wrong—the moment Cassian’s blade struck, the figure dissolved into mist, reforming just inches away. “They’re not real!” he growled, pivoting to block another strike. Dorian muttered a curse. “Fantastic. We’re fighting ghosts now.” Lena barely heard them. Her gaze was locked on the stone archway behind the woman. The symbols continued to pulse, their glow intensifying with every second. Something was coming. Idris threw out a hand, golden magic crackling to life. He sent a blast toward the woman, but before it could reach her, the energy warped—bent—and vanished into the archway as if swallowed whole. The woman laughed. “You cannot fight what you do not understand.” Lena gritted her teeth. “Th
The woman’s presence lingered long after she disappeared into the trees. Her words replayed in Lena’s mind, twisting like a warning she wasn’t sure she understood yet.You only closed a door.Cassian’s hand brushed against hers, his touch grounding. “Are you okay?”Lena forced a nod, though her heart was still racing. “She knew something. She felt something. And she wasn’t afraid.”“That’s what worries me,” Idris muttered. His eyes flickered toward the trees. “If she was a cultist and she’s not afraid, that means she knows what comes next.”Dorian kicked at a loose branch. “Well, great. Love when the people who worship eldritch horrors act all smug. That definitely means we’re in the clear.”Lena ignored him, scanning the forest. “We need to find her.”Cassian sighed. “You saw how fast she disappeared. She doesn’t want to be found.”“That doesn’t mean we stop looking.” Lena turned to Idris. “Can you track her magic?”He hesitated. “Maybe. She wasn’t using normal magic—it felt... old.”
Lena woke to the scent of burning wood and damp earth. The fire had dimmed, its embers glowing softly in the pre-dawn light. Cassian was still beside her, his arm draped loosely around her shoulders.For the first time in days, she had slept.But the moment of peace was fleeting.A rustling sound came from the edge of camp, followed by hurried footsteps. She sat up just as Idris appeared, his expression grave.“Something’s wrong.”Cassian stirred at her movement, instantly alert. “What is it?”Idris glanced toward the treeline. “Scouts spotted something near the Rift site. Or what’s left of it.”Lena’s stomach tightened. “What do you mean?”Idris hesitated before answering. “They say it’s still there.”Dorian, who had just emerged from his tent, scoffed. “That’s impossible. We shut it down.”Idris nodded grimly. “That’s what I thought, too. But they swear they saw something moving. And there’s… a sound.”Lena was already on her feet. “Take me there.”Cassian rose beside her. “Lena—”“
The cavern walls no longer pulsed with dark energy. The air, once thick with malice, now hung heavy with silence. Lena could still feel the remnants of her magic flickering through her veins, the aftershocks of the battle leaving her drained.Cassian hadn't let go of her hand. His grip was firm, steady—a grounding force in the wake of chaos.Dorian ran a hand through his hair, exhaling sharply. "Well, that was fun. Who wants to do it again?"Idris shot him a glare before kneeling beside the fallen man’s body. He pressed two fingers to the man’s throat, waiting, searching.Lena already knew.“He’s gone,” she whispered.Idris nodded grimly. “The Rift used him until there was nothing left.”A sick feeling curled in Lena’s stomach. This man—whoever he had been—had been alive before the Rift took him. A vessel, a shell, but still human.And now, because of them, he was dead.Cassian shifted beside her. “It wasn’t your fault.”She swallowed hard, not sure if she believed that.Dorian crouch
Darkness surged around Lena like a living force, swallowing sound and light in its wake. She tried to move, but the shadows clung to her, thick as tar. A sharp chill seeped into her bones, numbing her limbs.Then she heard it.A whisper.You don’t belong here.Her pulse pounded. The voice wasn’t just in her ears—it was inside her head, crawling through her thoughts like venom.Cassian’s grip on her hand tightened. “Lena, stay with me.” His voice was steady, but she could hear the tension beneath it. He was afraid too.The Rift’s magic pulsed again, and suddenly they were no longer standing on the floating rock.They were falling.The world twisted, folding in on itself. The sky shattered like glass, and for a moment, Lena glimpsed something beyond the Rift—a void so deep it made her stomach churn.Then—impact.She hit the ground hard, the breath knocked from her lungs. A dull ringing filled her ears as she tried to push herself up. The ground beneath her wasn’t stone or earth—it felt
The realization sat heavy in Lena’s chest. The Rift wasn’t gone. It was lurking, waiting, biding its time beneath the surface. She stared down at the unconscious man, his body still twitching, his breath shallow. The black veins that marred his skin pulsed faintly, as though something inside him was still alive. Cassian’s hand found her arm, grounding her. “Lena… what did you see?” She swallowed, forcing herself to steady her voice. “It’s not over.” Dorian let out a sharp breath. “Of course it’s not. Why would we ever catch a break?” Idris crouched beside the fallen man, his fingers hovering over the corrupted veins. A flicker of magic passed between them, and his brow furrowed. “It’s weak… but it’s still there. The Rift’s influence hasn’t disappeared entirely. It’s just—” He hesitated, his jaw tightening. “Sleeping.” A chill crawled up Lena’s spine. Cassian cursed under his breath. “Then we have a problem.” The city had barely begun to recover. The people were holding on by
The air in the ruined palace was thick with the scent of scorched stone and lingering magic. Lena’s heartbeat was a steady drum in her ears as she took in the aftermath.The Rift was gone.The masked figure had fallen.But the city was still in ruins.Lena pulled away from Cassian’s support, straightening despite the exhaustion in her bones. She could feel the lingering traces of the Rift’s energy—faint whispers in the air, like a dying echo. It no longer had a hold on this world, but the scars it had left behind were undeniable.“We need to check the city,” she said, voice hoarse. “See who survived.”Dorian let out a low breath, rolling his shoulders. “Right. Just survived an ancient, world-ending catastrophe, and now we’re doing a headcount.” He shook his head but didn’t argue. “Fine. Let’s move before we get buried in this place.”Idris, still leaning on his staff, nodded. “The corruption may be gone, but not everyone will have been freed instantly. Some might be lost… permanently.
The palace doors yawned open, a gaping maw of darkness swallowing the moonlight. A sickly chill crawled over Lena’s skin as she took a step forward, Cassian at her side, his grip tightening around his sword. Dorian and Idris flanked them, their expressions grim.The masked figure didn’t move, their presence as still as a statue. Only their voice carried through the ruined halls, thick with something ancient and knowing.“You can feel it, can’t you?” They tilted their head toward Lena. “The Rift sings for you.”A pulse of energy throbbed beneath her ribs, responding to the call. She clenched her fists, shoving the feeling down. “The only thing I feel is the need to end this.”The figure laughed, a sound that echoed eerily. “End this? Oh, child, you still don’t understand.” They spread their arms, gesturing to the ruined palace. “This was never about war. This was about balance. You’ve tipped the scales, Lena. You think you’ve won just because you made it back?”The shadows along the wa
The road to the capital was unrecognisable.Once-paved paths had been reduced to crumbling stone, overgrown with wild brambles and scorched earth. Smoke clung to the air, thick and acrid, as distant fires raged. The closer they got, the more Lena could feel it—the Rift’s presence. It pulsed beneath her skin like a second heartbeat, whispering in the back of her mind.Come closer. Come home.She clenched her fists, shoving the voice aside.They moved in silence, the weight of the war hanging over them. Cassian stayed close, his hand brushing against hers whenever the road grew treacherous. Dorian scouted ahead, daggers glinting at his sides, while Idris murmured quiet incantations, sensing for traps.The capital’s walls loomed ahead. Once pristine and towering, they were now lined with jagged cracks, tendrils of dark energy slithering across the stone. The city’s gates had been blasted open, twisted metal barely hanging onto the ruined archway.Lena’s stomach twisted. This isn’t just w