The light faded.
The platform dimmed.
But the truth remained.
Kael stood slowly. Elira steadied him, her eyes still fixed on the crystals that no longer glowed.
The chamber had returned to silence, but not stillness.
Something had changed.
Above them, the stone ceiling shuddered.
A sound followed, low, deep, wrong.
Kael turned toward the passage. "Something's coming."
Elira clutched the twins tighter. "From above?"
Kael shook his head. "No. From the other side."
The crystals at the walls flickered once. A crack split across the floor.
From it, black mist leaked, different from the Lower Realm's natural veil. This was heavier. Thicker. It bled darkness.
Kael stepped in front of Elira, summoning what he could. Not fire. Not thunder. Just focus.
The mist twisted.
A figure began to form.
Not a Watcher. Not one of the veiled.
This one had form. And eyes.
Eyes that burned like stolen suns.
Elira backed toward the platform. "We're not ready for this."
Kael lowered his stance. "We don't have to be. We just have to hold it."
The figure stepped forward, dragging shadow with every breath.
And the chamber shuddered.
Not from memory.
But from intrusion.
The breach had begun.