Chapter Sixty-Nine

The light that had emitted from the abyss didn't blur as Marcus, Clara, Ethan, and the protected captives jumbled to elude the disintegrating tunnel. Instead, it became brighter, nearly as shining to look at. It was as though something profound inside the abyss had stirred, a constraint that had been lying torpid until now.

As they arose into the open air, the light took after them, casting long shadows over the forest. The ground underneath them trembled, as though the earth was responding to the presence of this newly discovered power.

Ethan walked forward, still powerless from the battle inside the abyss. Clara surged to his side, supporting him as they moved away from the tunnel's entrance. Marcus kept his eyes on the light, his intuition shouting that they were not out of peril yet.

“What is that?” Mariam asked, her voice trembling. She had been rescued, but the terrors of the abyss had left behind their mark on her. The chains of shadow may have been broken, but she still bore t