Chapter 141: Baptism by Fire
Darkness pressed in, thick, absolute, almost viscous.
For a long, breathless instant, Nero could not tell if he was falling, floating, or simply unmade.
The world was gone, and in its place was pressure, a vibration in his bones, a chill at the edge of thought.
Then the sensation snapped.
Gravity reasserted itself.
His boots struck uneven stone with a jarring impact, and air, sharp and chemical, shot through with salt and cold, filled his lungs.
He staggered, but only for a heartbeat. All his senses screamed alert.
He had arrived.
The Shatterveil greeted him in silence.
He stood at the edge of a ruined street, the remnants of ancient cobblestones glistening with a film of dew and some faint, bioluminescent moss.
Broken pillars jutted from the ground like the ribs of a long-dead beast.