My Sister hurtful betrayal
she cried again.
Her voice became a tether between them. He latched onto it, each cry fueling his will. The distance between them closed slowly, agonizingly.
But Marcus was not finished. He stepped back toward the shard, placing his palm against its surface. The entire fortress shook as the shard unleashed a violent pulse. The floor cracked, the ceiling groaned, and shadows erupted like a flood. They filled the chamber, twisting into forms both monstrous and human, hollow-eyed figures with claws, faces frozen in eternal screams.