Kai stepped toward the shimmering barrier once more, his boots crunching lightly on the dust-veiled stone floor of the basement chamber. The air inside the manor was stale, too still, too preserved, and heavy with a weight he couldn't place.
He raised his hand, cloaked in shadow, and pressed it to the veil.
Nothing happened.
Not the flicker of a crack or the hum of weakening magic. Instead, a pulse shot through him. Not enough to throw him back, but more than enough to push back with force. His body tensed in reflex.
It was stronger than before. Denser. Saturated with energy and time.
He narrowed his eyes and pulled off his gloves, revealing the pale, necrotic marks along his hands. Marks that shimmered faintly with threads of stolen life.
He pressed his bare hand against the barrier.
