“Whatever that is,” I said quietly, “it’s not a memory. It’s not part of me.”Maxwell unsheathed his blade again. “Then it’s something worse.”Barin muttered, “We broke the seal too deep.”And from the rift... something stepped through.Not a shadow. Not a reflection. A being.Tall. Vaguely human, but wrong in its proportions. Its face was blank—no eyes, no mouth, just a smooth expanse of stretched skin and veins that pulsed with light. It looked at me, without looking, and knew me.“I think,” I whispered, “we just woke up the real enemy.”The words barely left my lips before the world shifted again. A hum, deep and resonant, vibrated through the air, through our bones. Barin grunted, dropping to one knee, clutching his staff like an anchor. Maxwell stood firm, jaw clenched, blade raised. Nima tried to rise but collapsed again, blood trickling from her nose.The creature no, the presence stepped forward, and the very fabric of reality recoiled. Grass shriveled beneath its feet. The sk
Last Updated : 2025-05-11 Read more