Chapter 81 – Whispers in the Broken SkyThe climb through the serrated ridges of the Ashen Peaks tested even the hardened endurance of Elliott’s mismatched fellowship. Jagged stone jutted skyward like the fossilized teeth of some colossal beast long since dead, and the higher they climbed, the more the world beneath seemed to wither into obscurity.Wind howled, shrieking between the gaps in the mountains as if warning them back. Clouds pressed low, swollen and gray, bruised with hints of lightning. The horizon was fractured—patches of blue flickered in and out of the rolling storms, and every so often the jagged cracks of energy split the sky like shattered glass.“Lovely day for a stroll,” Kai muttered, dragging his boots through the scree, his hair whipping around his face. He clutched his staff tightly, as though it might blow away if he loosened his grip.“You call this a stroll?” Mira shot back, her voice muffled by the scarf wrapped around her mouth. She was bent low against the

Chapter 83 – The Covenant’s ShadowNight fell like a velvet curtain, thick and oppressive. The group had made camp at the edge of the valley, far enough from the statues to escape the hum of divine presence but close enough to feel their weight pressing down from the mountains.The fire crackled low, throwing dancing shadows across their faces. No one spoke for a long time. Even Marlowe, usually incapable of silence, sat with his arms wrapped around his knees, staring at the flames as if they might spell out answers.Elliott broke first. “That voice…” His words trailed off. He looked up at the sky, clouded and starless. “It said one of us will pay the price. That the Relic devours.”Veyra’s jaw tightened. “Prophecy is rarely literal. Gods deal in riddles. Maybe it means the Relic will cost us… something else. Our innocence. Our humanity. Not necessarily our lives.”“Great,” Marlowe muttered. “So best-case scenario, we all survive but end up hollow shells of ourselves. Comforting.”Kai

Chapter 85 – The Ledge of Shadows The ledge was nothing more than a scar across the cliff, narrow as a knife’s edge, forcing them to press shoulder and cheek against cold, jagged stone. The air smelled of iron and dust, and below yawned an abyss so deep that no torchlight could have revealed its floor. A single slip would be enough to vanish forever. Elliott’s boots scraped, sending pebbles tumbling. He froze as they clicked against the stone, then disappeared into silence. He imagined them falling for hours, never striking bottom. His fingers ached from clinging to the rough wall, his knuckles bloodied, but the satchel against his hip throbbed with a steady heartbeat. The shard inside was alive, awake, whispering with every step. Above, Serath moved like a queen across the ravine’s rim, her silhouette etched against a sky of storm clouds. She did not hurry. She did not need to. Her shadows poured over the cliff’s edge in writhing streams, slinking downward like hunting serpents.

Chapter 87 – The Harbinger’s GambitThe light from the shattered hourglass lingered like an afterimage across the sky, gilding the storm in fire and gold. For one breathless moment, the battlefield stood suspended—neither victory nor defeat, only the trembling pause between heartbeats.Then the Harbinger roared.His cloak of shadows ripped wider, unfurling like a torn banner against the heavens. His form flickered, unstable, but his malice only grew sharper, more venomous. His voice cracked the air like thunder.“You think your defiance means anything? The river of time cannot be dammed by children playing at heroes.”Kai stumbled back, the fragments of the hourglass now dust slipping through his fingers. His chest burned with exhaustion, his body begging to collapse. But as the Harbinger advanced, Mira darted to his side.“You’re not touching him,” she hissed, her blade raised despite her trembling arm.Toren dragged himself upright, leaning on what remained of his axe. His breath ra

Chapter 89 – The Road to the LoomThe dawn stretched thin across the horizon as the group began their march. The earth still carried the echo of the Harbinger’s retreat—scorched soil, twisted stone, and the unnatural stillness of a world holding its breath. The air itself seemed heavier, as if reality strained under invisible pressure.Kai led with uneven steps, Mira supporting his weight with one arm, though he tried to hide how much he leaned on her. Toren trudged behind them, his armor clattering with each tired stride, while Elira walked silently, her fingers brushing faint sigils in the air as though weaving invisible wards.No one spoke for a long while. The silence between them wasn’t emptiness—it was purpose.Finally, Toren broke it, his voice gruff. “So this Loom—what in the nine hells even is it? Elira, you’ve been rattling on about threads and tapestries, but I’d like something solid before I walk into another myth and get my other arm ripped off.”Elira exhaled slowly, gat