Chapter 166: Between gods and Monsters

The silver glow in Serena’s eyes wasn’t hers.

Not entirely.

Elias stepped closer, blade lowered but ready, his voice taut with worry. “Serena?”

She blinked.

Once.

Then twice.

And slowly, the light dimmed—like a curtain being drawn behind her gaze.

Her lips parted. “It spoke to me.”

Caine moved beside Elias. “The Gate?”

Serena nodded. “It’s not just a portal. It’s a presence. Ancient. Watching. Judging.”

Kael scowled, glancing over his shoulder as more distant shadows moved in the far ridges. “Well, tell it to judge faster. We’ve got more of those things circling.”

Mira wiped blood from her mouth and joined them. “What did it say?”

Serena’s voice was hollow. “It said I was too soft. Too mortal. But also… that I could become something else. Something… terrifying.”

A hush fell over the circle.

It wasn’t just what she said.

It was how she said it.

Deep within the Gate’s energy, the realm between realities still shimmered. Though her body had returned to the physical plane, part of Serena’s spirit remained linked. That tether hummed, invisible to everyone else but felt by Caine.

“It didn’t sever the connection,” he muttered.

“What does that mean?” Elias asked.

“She didn’t leave the Gate,” Caine replied, eyes narrowing. “It followed her out.”

Lyra limped forward, her arm bandaged hastily. “So what? We’ve got the Gate leaking through her? That’s your plan?”

Serena turned toward her, slower than usual, as if her body no longer belonged fully to her.

“No. That’s Darian’s plan.”

She stared at the glowing seam where the Gate had appeared, now retreating slowly behind layers of shimmering runes.

“But I think I can turn it against him.”

Suddenly, the air shifted again.

Not the same rumble as before—this was darker. Sharper. Like a knife sliding through bone.

Kael raised his head first. “Another wave.”

They all felt it before they saw it: the Spire’s wards blinked. The valley darkened. And from the northern slope, Darian’s real army emerged.

Not the mimics.

Not the cursed.

These were the ones bred inside the Gate itself.

Twisted armor, impossibly tall, with obsidian blades fused to their limbs.

“They’re not human,” Mira whispered.

“They were,” Caine said. “Once.”

Serena didn’t hesitate.

She stepped forward, her hand outstretched.

The Spire responded. The runes beneath her boots flared. A blast of light spiraled upward, forming a barrier between the Spire’s summit and the oncoming tide.

But it wouldn’t hold forever.

“I need to go back in,” she said.

Elias turned sharply. “You just got out!”

“I didn’t finish what I started.” Her eyes met his. “I touched the Gate. Now I have to claim it.”

“If you go back in alone, you might not return at all.”

She reached for his hand. “Then don’t let me go alone.”

Darian stood atop a distant ridge, watching through the flicker of broken time.

He could feel her power rising, and for the first time in years, something stirred in him—

Not fear.

But regret.

He had underestimated her.

And now, the Gate whispered too loudly to ignore.

It was shifting its loyalty.

She was becoming the Gate’s chosen.

Back at the Spire, Serena gathered her team in a wide circle.

“I don’t need all of you to follow me in,” she said. “But I do need you to protect what’s here.”

Lyra cracked her knuckles. “What’s new? I’ve always cleaned up your messes.”

Kael grinned. “I’ll hold the line.”

Mira rolled her shoulders. “Just don’t take too long. I’m running low on bones to break.”

Caine stepped forward. “I can enter the outer veil with you. Not all the way—but far enough to anchor you.”

Elias took Serena’s hand.

“I’m not staying behind.”

Serena nodded.

Then together, hand in hand, they stepped back toward the Gate’s light.

It opened without warning—like a wound in the sky.

The energy didn’t roar. It sighed. As if recognizing them.

Serena felt her heartbeat slow. The world turned sideways. And once more, she was inside.

But this time, she wasn’t alone.

Elias stood beside her.

And this time, she controlled the entry point.

The silver ground solidified beneath them. The illusions didn’t rush to attack. The space waited—for her.

“You’ve changed it,” Elias whispered.

“No,” she replied. “It’s adapting.”

They walked deeper into the void, which gradually formed into a mirror of the Spire—but cracked, blackened, and endless.

In the center of it all was Darian.

Waiting.

But he wasn’t smiling now.

“You’ve brought him,” Darian said, gesturing to Elias.

“I brought my choice,” Serena replied.

She let go of Elias’s hand and stepped forward.

“I’m not here to bargain anymore.”

Outside, in the real world, Lyra stood with Mira and Kael at the Spire’s edge.

The Gate’s army approached.

The first wave would hit in less than three minutes.

“You ready?” Mira asked, cracking her neck.

Lyra twirled her blade. “Nope.”

Kael spat into the dirt. “Doesn’t matter. They’re still bleeding before I do.”

Inside the realm, Serena summoned her flame—not just magic now, but a force laced with silver light, with whispers from the Gate itself.

It surrounded her like armor.

Darian frowned. “You’re opening yourself too far. That power will eat you alive.”

“Then let it try.”

Elias stepped beside her again, blade drawn.

Darian raised his hands.

The realm shuddered.

And the final trial began.