Xandros let out a sharp, disbelieving laugh. “We need to get out of here. Now. Who knows what else this cursed place is hiding?”
Ella pointed at the massive wall, her glowing hand shook slightly. “That’s exactly why we can’t leave yet. The map isn’t finished. Our starmaps activated parts of it, but the biggest gaps—especially the center where the Dark Abyss should be—are still empty. You three carry the matching pieces. If we press against the wall together, it should unlock everything.”
Dravok moved without hesitation. He scooped Nadine up and slung her over his shoulder like a sack of grain. “We are leaving.”
“Dravok!” Nadine yelped, kicking her legs uselessly. “Put me down, you big oaf!”
I lifted a hand. “Hold on.”
Dravok paused. Nadine kicked him again. “Au! That hurt my foot, you brute!”
The tension in the chamber thickened. Zapharos’ golden aura flared hot as he took a step toward me, clearly ready to argue—or fight—if I pushed. But then Naeris moved. She crossed the short distance between us and took my arm.
Her fingers wrapped around my bare forearm, warm and surprisingly steady. The simple touch sent a shockwave through me. My breath caught. The golden thread flared so bright it drowned out the rest of the chamber for a heartbeat. All the worry I’d carried through the flooded tunnels, all the rage at the cave-in, all the helpless fury at not being able to reach her fast enough, it all crashed into something softer. Something terrifying.
She was choosing to touch me. Not to stop me this time. Not because she had to. Because she wanted to.
After everything—after pushing me away, after telling me she owed me nothing—she was reaching for me. I would have torn the mountain apart with my bare hands right then if she’d asked.
Naeris looked up at me, her glowing skin illuminating the faint worry lines around her eyes. Her voice was quiet, but it carried through the entire chamber. “We need this, Thyros.Ineed this.”
The silence that followed was heavy. Even Zapharos stopped advancing. Dravok slowly set Nadine down. She rubbed her foot and shot him a glare, but she stayed close, muttering under her breath.
Xandros exhaled a long, defeated breath, glancing at Ashley like she was his entire reason for existing. “Fine. But the second anything feels wrong, we drag every last one of you out of here, kicking and screaming if we have to.”
Ashley smirked. “I’d like to see you try, big guy.”
I looked down at Naeris’ hand still resting on my arm. That small point of contact grounded me more than anything else in this ancient, haunted place. The danger was still very real,the guardians watched us warily, the air hummed with unstable power, and the wound on her shoulder kept bleeding.
But with her touching me, willingly, I felt something I hadn’t felt in centuries: Hope.
Dangerous. Foolish. Terrifying hope.
I stared at the massive wall, at the dark, empty center that seemed to stare back. My stomach twisted. I didn’t want to do this. Not because I feared the guardians or the collapsing stone. Because of what they would see.
My flaw. The large, ink-black void that covered most of my back, not a wound, not a scar, but something deeper. A living darkness that had been part of me since the Abyss spat me out. It looked like a hole punched straight through reality, swirling with faint crimson threads. I had spent centuries hiding it, even from my brothers. The Harrowed One had whispered to me through that darkness for as long as I could remember.
And now everyone would see it.
But then I saw the look in Naeris' eyes and reached for the hem of my shirt anyway. My jaw was so tight, I could hear my molars crack. I squeezed her hand once before I pulled the shirt over my head.
“Alright,” I growled, voice rough with everything I couldn’t say. “Let’s finish what Ashera started.”
I shredded the shirt to use part to take care of Naeris' arm. She tolerated it. She wasn't happy, she made that obvious enough with her stiff stance, but she didn't push me away, and I called that a win.
The guardians’ crystalline eyes dimmed to a low, watchful glow. Not once did I let my guard down, always watching them from the corner of my eye. So did the others, I noticed. Even though the immediate threat seemed to have passed, the air still hummed with ancient power, restless, waiting, and far from finished with us.
Nadine was vibrating with urgency. “Move against the wall, please. We can’t leave until the map is complete."
Zapharos noticed my hesitation immediately. His golden aura flickered with impatience, but there was a sharp, knowing glint in his eyes. One I knew all too well, the same one he always used before pouncing on me. I readied myself for a fight. He rolled his massive shoulders and flexed, making the golden starmap on his chest and arms gleam.
“What’s the matter, little brother? Scared you can’t compare to us?” He struck an exaggerated pose, biceps bulging. “Come on. Show us what the Abyss spat out.”
I shook my head, a reluctant smirk tugging at my mouth despite everything. I flexed my own arm in return, the muscle standing out hard and defined. “You have nothing I don’t have, golden boy.”
Dravok let out a low whistle, and his shadowed aura curled lazily around him. “Careful, Zapharos. He’s been hiding in the dark. Probably been lifting entire planets down there just to stay warm.”
Zapharos barked a laugh. “Please. My aura alone outshines anything the Abyss could produce.”
