They did not return to the main Crossroads.
Kael led them through a narrowing passage where light thinned into threads and silence pressed heavy against the skin. The Veil here felt old, strained, like fabric worn too thin by centuries of secrets.
“This place doesn’t exist on faction paths,” Kael said. “Most don’t even know it’s possible to walk this far off grid.”
Ryn stumbled beside Aria, still weak, but his eyes kept darting toward the shadows. “They call it the Hollow Reach,” he said hoarsely. “Unaligned sanctuary. Or it used to be.”
The passage opened suddenly.
Before them lay a vast cavern suspended in nothingness, its edges dissolving into mist. Broken platforms hovered unevenly, connected by bridges of dim, amber light. At the center burned a great flame, not wild or raging, b
