เข้าสู่ระบบAs the water touched Salvaxe’s skin, he felt something. Like a shadow crawling up his back. He managed to place the girl on the floor before his body went still. His body locked tight, his muscles seizing into a rigid statue. His eyes remained wide, fixed on the girl he had just pulled from the water, but they were vacant– the light in them dimming like a candle being smothered. The girl on the floor began to cough– a wet, rattling sound– her skin turned a pale pur
As the water touched Salvaxe’s skin, he felt something. Like a shadow crawling up his back. He managed to place the girl on the floor before his body went still. His body locked tight, his muscles seizing into a rigid statue. His eyes remained wide, fixed on the girl he had just pulled from the water, but they were vacant– the light in them dimming like a candle being smothered. The girl on the floor began to cough– a wet, rattling sound– her skin turned a pale purple. This shocked Estrela. Salvaxe did not recover either, his skin going pale yellow as he stood frozen and stiff beside the fountain. Estrela’s body moved to the fountain, her eyes darting between their seizing girl and the frozen Salvaxe. “What is this?” she demanded, her voice cracking. “They are impure,” she announced. Escuro’s blood ran cold. He looked from Salvaxe’s rigid, unblinking face to the girl gasping for air on the stone floor, then
Salvaxe walked over to the cable, crouching beside it. He reached out and touched the thick, braided material. It was not hemp or rope– it felt like something organic, cold and slightly rubbery, pulsing with a faint, internal rhythm. “You are right about that,” he said, pulling his hand back. “It is not just a cable. It is like a vein.” He looked at the torch on the wall, then back at the cable. “If we can’t cut it, maybe we can short it out? or burn it? He paused, his brow furrowing. “But if this thing is connected to the fountain and the fountain is connected to… whatever the old man was talking about… maybe we should not be touching it at all.” He stood up, wiping his hands on his trousers. “Wait. It the device is gone, and someone took it… where would they go?” Salvaxe asked, as the question popped into his head. “It was probably Estrela,” Escuro said with a deep voice, his min
Salvaxe did not argue. He just nodded, his hand lingering on the hilt of his knife for a second longer than necessary before he turned toward the direction of the cave. When they finally approached the cave mouth carved into the cliff of the mountain, below where the ruins were, the sun was already setting. The entrance of the cave was completely covered by a luminous, circular magical barrier. The barrier glows in vivid shades of blue and white, its surface alive with swirling energy and branching, lightninglike veins that crackle across it. The effect is both fluid and volatile, as if water and electricity have been fused into a single, unstable force. It casts a faint, cool glow onto the surrounding rock, subtly illuminating the cave’s edges and the nearby ground. Salvaxe stopped short, his hand going to his chest. The cool pulsing light from the barrier washed over them, painting their faces in flickering shades of electric blue. “What the hell i
“If we go back down there and stop the water from flowing? What then?” Escuro asked, still not sure if he entirely beliefs all this. The old man’s eyes darted to the corner of the room, as if checking to see if the shadows themselves were listening. “You go down there, you are walking into a throat,” he said, his voice low and urgent. “The mechanism is not just a lever. It is connected to something. Something that breathes.” He picked up the mug again but did not drink. His fingers drumming a nervous rhythm against the clay. “If you stop the flow, you might seal it back up. Or you might provoke what is underneath to come looking for you. There is no clean way out of this, boy. You either let it happen and watch the whole valley turn into something unrecognizable, or you go down there and pray you are faster than whatever is waiting.” He paused, his gaze settling on Escuro. “Fine,” Escuro said and
“The ground there is thin,” the old man said, his voice dropping to a low murmur. “Not thin like a worn rug. Thin like skin over a wound that will not heal. The things that live on the other side– they do not care about your names, or your gods, or your little wars.” He picked up on of the mugs, turning it slowly in his hands. “When you went in there, last time, you brought something back with you. Not on your backs, not in your pockets. Something inside. Something that sits in the dark parts of your mind and waist.” He looked directly at Salvaxe, then shifted his gaze to Escuro. “Look, we do not have time for this,” Escuro said impatiently. “Tell us about the fountain.” The old man let out a short, dry laugh that had no warmth in it. “You do not drink for that fountain. You do not even touch the water with your bare skin if you can help it.” He pointed the iron rod toward the window, toward the direct
As Escuro and Salvaxe approached the cottage an old man came out. He has long, unkempt grey hair that falls in uneven strands around his face and shoulders, tangled and coarse, while his thick beard– also grey and streaked with darker remnants– spreads across his chest in a wild, natural mass. There are deep lines carved into his face, especially around his eyes and mouth, giving him a weathered, almost carved appearance, as though time itself has etched its passage into his skin. He was dressed in worn, layered clothing made of rough wool frayed at the edges and patched in places. A thick fur coat is draped over his shoulders, heavy and unrefined, its texture coarse and uneven. The sleeves of his garments are tattered, revealing glimpses of his aged hands, which are rough and calloused. The old man stood in the doorway of his cottage, one hand gripping the warped wooden frame the other trembling at his side as he spotted the two figures emerging through the trees.
Luz and his team walked along the coast, a jagged cliff face dominating the right side, its dark stone weathered by wind and sea. Then they approached the cave entrance, its interior swallowed by shadow. A single torch burned just inside, casting a faint, flickering orange glow that barely pushes
“It has been so long since anyone looked at me like that,” Luz murmured, his voice losing its harsh edge. “Like they see me, not just the monster in black armour.” His hand instinctively covered hers on his cheek, holding it there. “Hope is a luxury I can’t aff
Amelia moaned and her head fell back in pleasure as Luz pressed open-mouth kisses along her collarbone. Her hands moved to his shoulders to hold onto him. His hands moved to her back, pulling her flush against him so their bare chests pressed together. The contrast of her warm skin against the cr
“What if I want you to kiss me?” Amelia asked challengingly back in Luz’s tent. Luz’s breath hitched at her bold question, the challenge in her green eyes lighting a fire within him that had been dormant for too long. The crimson glow in his eyes intensified as he closed t







