The silver whistle’s silent frequency vibrated through my marrow, turning my blood to sludge. Malakor’s smirk was the last thing I saw before the world tilted into a grey haze. He walked away, heels clicking on the stone, leaving me to the three Inquisitors."Bag him," the lead Inquisitor barked. "And keep the Solar-Runes active. If he twitches, burn his limbs off."I was on my knees, my chest a furnace of stagnant energy. The Black-Iron core felt like a jagged stone grinding against my ribs."He looks smaller up close," the second Inquisitor mocked, stepping into the cellar’s center. He raised a glowing, mace-headed staff. "Not so hungry now, are you, Void-rat?""Wait," I wheezed. The darkness in my eyes wasn't gone; it was condensing."Wait for what? Your execution?" The Inquisitor laughed, raising the mace. The Solar-Rune on its head flared with the intensity of a forge. "The King wants you alive, but he didn't say you needed all your teeth."I reached out, not with my hands, but w

The orange glow in my veins wasn’t a triumph; it was a death sentence. As I stood in the wake of the shattered barrier, my skin felt like it was being stitched together with rusted needles. The "Ever-Fire" I’d swallowed was fighting the Black-Iron core, two apex predators locked in a cage that was my ribcage."Jack! Vent it! You’re glowing like a dying star!" Silas shrieked. He scrambled out of my pocket, his straw limbs smoking and brittle."I can't," I rasped. Every word felt like I was spitting liquid lead. "If I let it go here, I level the square. The girl is still in that cathedral.""If you don't let it go, you’re the one who levels!" Silas hopped onto a stone gargoyle, looking down at me with frantic red eyes. "Listen to me, you stubborn fool. The Void-Grasp isn't a stomach; it’s a door. You’ve let too much through. You’re getting the Fever."My vision blurred. A wave of nausea hit me, followed by a bone-deep chill that made my orange skin steam. I stumbled, my knees hitting th

"Move, Jack! The garrison is regrouping, and I can't carry you and Silas both!" Elara’s voice was a jagged whip, cutting through the ringing in my ears.I stumbled through the hidden drainage tunnels beneath the Royal Square, my boots splashing in stagnant water. The Void-Fever was a physical weight now, a sludge of violet and orange fighting for dominance in my veins. Behind us, Silas—his straw exterior frayed and scorched—floated in the air, his red eyes dimming."The cavern," I wheezed, leaning against the damp stone. "Just through the sluice gate. It’s an old smuggling route.""You better hope it’s empty," Elara muttered, her white hair matted with the Titan’s blue dust. "Because if I have to kill one more Inquisitor today, I’m going to start with you for being so heavy."We burst into a high-vaulted chamber, the walls weeping with salt and ancient magic. It was silent, isolated, and cold. I collapsed onto the cavern floor, my skin vibrating with a frequency that threatened to sha