Chapter 71 The Avatar hit the eastern district first. Its long smoky arm slammed down like a falling tree and crushed three houses in one strike. People screamed and ran in every direction. Zarek reached the core chamber just as the ground shook hard enough to knock dust from the ceiling. He pressed his hands to the glowing pillar and poured his power into the defenses. Walls of reinforced stone rose around the central tower. Watchtowers snapped into place along the main roads. He worked fast, breathing hard, eyes locked on the battle outside through the open windows. Lirien appeared at his side, bow already drawn. "It is learning," she said. "It went straight for the weaker side where Draven's people are gathered. Not random. Smart." Zarek nodded once and kept building. Mira burst in a moment later, her face pale but steady. She carried a small toolkit and started modifying the nearest defense turret on the spot, making it fire faster. "Kael is safe in the inner shelter with Elara

**Chapter 73**The morning light came weak and gray over Sanctuary City. Zarek woke early with a heavy feeling in his chest. He had barely slept. The black veins from the seed had spread farther during the night. They now reached the edge of the old market square and touched the walls of several nearby buildings. The ground around them looked dead and cracked like it had been burned from below. A few brave workers stood at a safe distance and stared at the mess. No one wanted to get closer.Zarek met Mira and the others in the main hall of the central tower. The table in front of them held maps of the city and reports from the night watch. Lirien pointed to the worst spots on the map. "The veins are sucking life from everything they touch. Two families had to leave their homes this morning because the walls started crumbling. The seed itself is bigger now. It looks like it is growing a shell or something hard around it."Mira sat close to Zarek. Her hand rested on her belly under the

**Chapter 75** The sun rose slow and reluctant over Sanctuary City the next morning. Smoke still drifted from the market square where the bodies had been burned. The new stone cage around the seed stood tall and cold but it did not feel safe. Black veins had already started to creep up the inside of the barrier like roots searching for cracks. Every few minutes a faint purple glow pulsed from within and the whispers grew a little louder. People avoided the square now. Even the bravest fighters walked the long way around. Zarek woke with a headache that sat behind his eyes like a stone. He had not slept more than an hour. Mira lay beside him on the narrow bed in their quarters. Her breathing was steady but her face looked pale. The small bump under her shirt had grown enough that he could see it clearly now when she turned on her side. He reached out and rested his hand there gently. The baby kicked once. A tiny life that knew nothing about seeds or pale creatures or the weight of le

**Chapter 77** The rift in the market square did not close. It pulsed like a wound that would not stop bleeding. Lesser void creatures poured out in waves. Small ones first with too many legs and glowing eyes. Then larger ones that moved like smoke and claws. They did not attack the seed itself. They spread outward in two directions at once. Toward the eastern district where Draven’s people had gathered and toward the central tower where the core sat. Zarek did not wait for orders. He raised his hands and the ground answered. Stone barriers shot up between the rift and the tower. Turrets spun into place along the main roads. But the creatures were fast and smart. They found gaps. They climbed walls. One group reached the eastern district and fell on the reformers before they could fully form their own defense line. Screams rose from both sides of the city. Loyalists and reformers alike fought the void things with whatever they had. Hammers. Spears. Arrows. For a few minutes the

**Chapter 79** The dome over the market square stood like a giant gray shell in the middle of the city. It glowed faintly with purple light from the trapped rift inside. Muffled sounds came through the stone. Claws scraping. Whispers that never stopped. The seed was still alive in there and everyone could feel it pressing against the barrier trying to break free. Zarek sat on the tower steps with his head in his hands. The core inside him felt heavy and slow like it needed rest he could not give. Stability sat at twenty eight percent now. One more push and it might drop below the danger line. He had bought time with the dome but the cost was high. Part of the eastern district was now cut off from the main streets. Some of Draven’s people were trapped inside the dome with the creatures. Others stood outside looking at Zarek like he had planned the whole thing. Draven marched up to the tower with Vara and a small group behind him. Their clothes were torn and covered in black dust. Dr