Chapter 163: The Price of Defiance
Nero moved swiftly through the twisting pathways of the Shatterveil, his disillusionment charm bending light and shadow around him.
His steps were light, silent, his senses sharp and alert.
But something felt wrong. Very wrong.
The shadows were back, coiling close to him, whispering in jagged voices, hollow and distorted.
The Shatterveil felt different. As if it was no longer watching him passively, but actively.
His Raven Eyes flared to life as the hidden fabric of magic emerged.
Shades of gray and silver threading through every surface.
Magical traces pulsed in the air, erratic and spiraling upward like smoke caught in a storm.
A beacon.
His chest tightened. ’Damn it... I must have triggered something.’
The first two anchors had been corrupted slowly, hidden beneath layers of illusion and delay.
But this one, not only was different from the others he had encountered, but he had also outright destroyed it.