The outer web structures were dead quiet.No offspring patrolling. No movement in the cocoons. Just silence that felt wrong."My sensors are going crazy," Liam said, checking his equipment. "Massive energy readings deeper in the nest. But nothing here.""It knows we're coming," Aria said."Knows or planned for us?""Both."They moved through the outer zone carefully. The webs here were old. Thick with dust and decay. Some cocoons still had things inside. Most were dead. A few moved weakly when they passed.Anna stopped at one. "Someone's still alive in there.""We can't help them," Miko said. "Not yet. Kill the Blood Shepherd first. Then we free whoever's left.""If anyone's left.""If anyone's left."They pushed deeper. The web structures got thicker. More complex. Forcing them down specific paths like they were being herded."It's controlling our movement again," Akiya said."Let it. We're going where it expects us anyway."The nest core was ahead. They could feel it now. Dimensiona

The transport shook violently. Turbulence from the collapsing zone."Hold on!" the pilot yelled. "We're not clear yet!"Through the window, Miko saw the zone imploding. Not just collapsing. Being pulled into dimensional voids. The whole area was being erased from reality."That's not normal collapse," Liam said, checking his sensors. "The dimensional structure is destabilizing completely.""What does that mean?""It means the Blood Shepherd's core was holding this entire zone together. Now that it's destroyed, everything's falling apart."The transport banked hard. Avoiding debris that flew upward from the collapsing zone. Rocks. Web material. Bodies of offspring caught in the destruction."We're losing altitude!" the pilot said. "Dimensional pull is too strong!""Can you fight it?" Miko asked."I'm trying!"The transport struggled. Engines at maximum. But the collapsing zone was creating a vortex. Pulling everything toward it."We're going back in!" Akiya yelled.She was right. Despi

Miko sat alone in his quarters.Everyone else was training or sleeping or doing whatever helped them process what happened. He just sat there. Window open. Looking out at nothing in particular.His body still hurt. Not the sharp pain from injuries. That was mostly healed. This was deeper. The kind of hurt that came from pushing too far too fast.Element marriage side effects probably. Or just exhaustion.He thought about how far he'd come. Started as the weak kid at the Academy. Diluted earth element. Ash that nobody respected. Everyone looked at him like he was already a failure.Now he was different. Element marriage made him different. Made him strong enough to fight things that killed professional soldiers.Strong enough to stand in front of a portal and stop fifty wraiths alone.Strong enough to kill the Blood Shepherd.When did that happen? When did he go from weak to this?He couldn't pinpoint the exact moment. It was gradual. Each fight. Each mission. Each time he pushed his e

The next morning, Miko was summoned to a briefing room he'd never been in before. Smaller than the main one. More private. "Just you," the messenger said. "Your team waits outside." That was strange. But he went anyway. He opened the door and stopped. Three people stood inside. People he recognized. People he hadn't seen in months. Blaze. Cabin. Samson. The championship competitors who'd toured the Abyss with him on that first mission. "Miko!" Blaze grinned. His fire element flickered around his hands in excitement. "Thought we'd never see you again after you went all legend on us." Cabin was quieter. Just nodded. His earth element made him solid. Unmovable. The kind of guy who said more with silence than words. Samson stood apart from the others. His holy sword strapped to his back. The blade hummed with blessed energy even while sheathed. Seventy percent blessed according to Church standards. Powerful enough to cut through most Abyssal threats. "You're all here," Miko said

The portal site loomed ahead.They'd marched through the city. Through the crowds. Through the cheering and crying and desperate hope. Now they stood at the gates of the secured area.The portal was already active. Fifty feet tall. Thirty feet wide. Pulsing with energy that made Miko's teeth hurt."All units inside!" an officer yelled.The expedition filed through the security gates. Into the restricted zone. Behind them, the crowd pressed against the barriers. Thousands of people watching. Praying. Hoping.Inside, technicians ran final checks. Church priests performed last blessings. Engineers monitored equipment that hummed with dimensional power."First wave form up!" Galok commanded.Church paladins moved to the front. Fifty of them in perfect formation. White armor gleaming. Blessed weapons ready.Miko stood with Unit Seven in the staging area. They'd go in the second wave with the other elite units."Portal stable," an engineer called out. "Ready for transit."Galok stepped forw