Chapter 141: Eye of Blackvale
The ascent began in silence.
Blackvale trembled beneath them, its foundations fractured by ancient truths and forgotten wars. Cambria, Maddox, and Julian emerged from the Vault’s ruined threshold into a city on the verge of collapse its steel bones groaning under the pressure of an awakening world that no longer obeyed the rules of time or reason.
The sky above was no longer a sky, but a wound wide, bleeding light and shadow in equal measure. The Eye of Blackvale had fully opened, a cyclopean vortex of runes and colorless fire spinning above the tallest skyscraper once known as ValeTech Tower. What was once a symbol of Maddox’s power was now the epicenter of reality’s unraveling.
Cambria tightened her grip on the fractured Heartstone, the remnants still defiantly pulsing. The merge had nearly killed her. Would still kill her. And yet, she moved forward, teeth clenched, body bruised and soul burning with clarity.
She was no longer walking toward vengeance.
She was walking toward the sacrifice.
Julian adjusted the frequency scanner strapped to his chest. "The Architect’s energy signature is nesting at the Eye. It’s fully anchored now. We’re running out of time."
Maddox nodded grimly. "Then we tear it out before it spreads."
Cambria’s gaze swept the city. "Where’s the resistance line?"
"Gone," Julian said. "What’s left of the Veil Guard is either dead, scattered, or fighting in pockets across the lower districts. They’re holding back the constructs, but it won’t last."
"And Eira?" Maddox asked, his jaw still tight with grief, though he hadn’t spoken her name.