Chapter 183: Ch181. Shifting world
The moment the stone doors of the cathedral sealed shut behind him, Miles felt the temperature shift. Not colder, not warmer, just... Heavier. As though the air had turned to glass and sound to sand.
His captors moved with practiced steps, ushering him through a narrow side corridor that spiraled downward in a slow, tightening arc. He didn’t resist, counting their movements, watching their stances, memorizing the angles they kept between each other.
They weren’t just guards, they were trained sweepers. The kind sent to clean up after dangerous things.
Cheshire remained silent now, somewhere beyond Miles’ vision. Not vanished, but wary, watching, waiting.
They descended into a chamber not lit by flame or spell, but by faint pulses of light running along the walls, arcane veins, glowing blue. Everything here was refined, precise. Built with a purpose.
Eventually, the corridor opened into a stone hall lined with curved pillars, and in its center sat a high-backed throne of metal and bone.
The woman waiting there wore a long coat woven with aether-thread, her hands clad in silver-thread gloves. She was young, no older than Miles himself, but her presence filled the room like frost in a closed space.
Her hair was braided back with wire and charm stones, and her eyes were pale, unnatural, like pearl split by thunder.
The guards shoved Miles forward.
"Careful..." He muttered, catching his balance without stumbling.
The woman gestured lazily, and the guards stepped back. Their weapons remained ready, but they knew who was in charge, and so did Miles.