Chapter 25 – Of Beasts and Broken Crowns
The path beyond the Flame Gate wasn't a path at all.
It was a wilderness of ruins and sky-roots—trees growing upside down from clouds, their branches threading through broken archways that hovered midair. Time didn't move here. It looped—and Raen had learned to ignore the clocks.
But something was different now.
The blade in his hand, Silence Between, pulsed like a heartbeat. And with each pulse, the world bent slightly, just enough for him to notice the rules were changing.
That's when the beasts came.
Not hostile. Not welcoming. Just... curious.
A massive hound made of smoke and silver eyes padded beside him in silence. A moth the size of a wagon flitted overhead, trailing emberdust that made Raen cough. Even the trees seemed to breathe, reacting to his presence.
Then came the voice.
Not from the sky. From the space between his ribs.
"Call us."
Raen stopped.