The Heart of Shadow
The valley ended abruptly, as if the world itself had been torn open.
Beyond the cliff stretched a hollow void — a sphere of darkness so dense that light bent around it.
Every heartbeat echoed back at Selene twice, one pulse human, the other impossibly ancient.
Kaen stood at the edge, fur bristling. His eyes glowed like twin moons.
The air smelled of rain and iron; the silence was alive.
Selene took a step forward.
Each footfall stirred a ripple through the dark, and a low hum filled the emptiness.
She could feel it now — a rhythm that matched her own.
The Heart.
Her voice trembled. “I’m here.”
The void answered.
A single beam of black light shot upward, twisting into a spiral before settling into the shape of a massive, floating core — liquid shadow with ve
