The chamber shuddered as if the walls themselves were alive. The floor trembled beneath Lena’s feet, and a deep groan echoed through the underground hall. She staggered back, one hand clutching her side where dried blood still clung to her skin. Every muscle in her body screamed with exhaustion, but her eyes stayed sharp. She could not let herself fall now. Too much depended on her standing.Across the room, Kai pushed himself up from the rubble. Dust clung to his hair, his breathing uneven. But his gaze never left Lena. It wasn’t the chaos shaking the chamber that worried him. It was her. The weight of everything she had carried, everything she had faced, was now pressing down harder than ever.The Zero Child stood at the center, small but glowing with a strange silver fire that seemed to fight against the shadows stretching from the walls. The light bent and cracked, clashing with the dark tendrils that pulsed like living veins through the chamber. It was as if the room itself had b

The storm rolled in fast. Thunder shook the broken city like the warning growl of a wild beast, and lightning split the sky in jagged lines. Lena pulled her coat tighter around her shoulders, shivering—not from the cold, but from the anticipation that coiled in her chest. Every step she took toward the enemy’s stronghold felt heavier than the last.Kai moved ahead of her, his eyes scanning every ruined street and twisted metal frame for movement. His weapon was ready, hand steady even as rain soaked his hair and face. Blood from his old wounds had started to mix with the rain, streaking down his arm, but he did not notice. Nothing would stop him from reaching the stronghold.The Zero Child walked between them, silent and small, but a quiet power seemed to ripple around him. Lena could feel it. The air felt charged, alive, almost dangerous just to be near him. He was calm—too calm—but she knew that beneath that calm was a storm. He had been pushed to his limits, forced to fight, forced

The chamber trembled violently as the pulse of energy from the glowing core intensified. Lena’s ears rang with the roar of power, and the ground beneath them quaked with every step of the cloaked figure. Sparks of blue and black energy streaked through the air, casting long, jagged shadows across the walls. Lena’s heart pounded, but she refused to let fear control her.Kai crouched beside her, weapon in hand, eyes sharp, scanning every movement. His shoulder bled, his clothes torn, but he was ready. Every fiber of him radiated determination. He was not just fighting for survival—he was fighting for them, for Lena, for the Zero Child, for the chance to end this nightmare.The Zero Child stood between them, small but brimming with a strange, almost terrifying energy. His hands glowed, sparks dancing along his fingers. He inhaled sharply, then released a pulse of power that sent a shockwave through the chamber, knocking several shadow soldiers back. Lena felt the energy ripple under her

The ruins around them were silent, but the air vibrated with a tension that refused to fade. Dust swirled in streaks of light, and the cracks in the stone walls glowed faintly from residual energy. Lena’s muscles ached, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath. Every nerve in her body screamed at her to stay alert, to not let her guard down.Kai stood beside her, his eyes scanning every shadow, every flicker of movement. Blood had dried on his arm from earlier wounds, but the set of his jaw and the intensity in his gaze showed he was far from beaten. The Zero Child hovered slightly above the cracked floor, his small frame glowing faintly as energy coiled around him like living fire.“We can’t stay here,” Kai said quietly, voice low but steady. “That last wave of energy may have driven them back, but there’s always more. Something is watching. Waiting.”Lena nodded, gripping the Zero Child’s hand tightly. “I know. I can feel it… like shadows crawling over my skin. They’re clo

The smoke had not yet cleared when Lena pushed herself up from the broken ground. Her arms trembled, her chest burned, and the taste of blood filled her mouth, but she forced herself to stand. Around her, the battlefield was in chaos—clashing steel, cries of pain, and the thunder of powers colliding filled the air like a storm that would never end.She wiped the blood from her lips and searched through the haze. Kai was still standing, though barely. His shirt was ripped open, deep cuts marked his chest, and one arm hung at his side uselessly. Still, his eyes burned bright, sharp as blades, fixed on the towering enemy ahead of them—the general who refused to fall.The man stood like a mountain among the wreckage, his armor scorched but unbroken, his massive frame refusing to bend. Dark energy swirled around him like a living storm, each pulse making the air heavier and harder to breathe. His presence pressed down on Lena’s chest until every breath felt like she was drowning.“You two