The darkness came like a living thing.
Clek stood in the garden, the bronze coin blazing in his hand, the shard of black crystal cold against his skin. The First Darkness was moving, its power surging across the city like a tidal wave. He could feel it in the ground beneath his feet, in the air around him, in the desperate screams that echoed through the streets.
Aria's presence flickered in his mind, sharp with alarm. "Clek! The darkness is everywhere! It's overwhelming the city!"
"I know." His voice was flat, hard. "The Awakening has begun."
"No," Aria said, her voice shaking. "It can't be. We stopped the Watcher. We broke their power."
"We stopped a symptom," Clek said, his voice hollow. "The disease is still there. The First Darkness is free. And it's coming for us."
He moved thr
