The glow on the horizon grew brighter each night.
Elias stood at the sanctuary's entrance, watching the pulsing light that had appeared after his return from the canyon. It was closer now, more defined. A column of shifting energy that seemed to reach toward the sky like a grasping hand.
Three days had passed since he had faced the figure in the canyon. Three days of waiting, watching, preparing. But this new threat was different. It didn't attack. It didn't speak. It simply waited.
And that was what made it so unsettling.
It is studying us, the shadow said. Learning our patterns. Our weaknesses.
Elias nodded slowly. "I know. I can feel it watching."
We must strike first. Before it learns everything it needs to know.
Elias turned from the entrance. The others were gathered in the ch
