The eyes opened.
And reality stopped breathing.
Not metaphorically.
Literally.
The air vanished from my lungs.
The corridor froze.
Every particle.
Every sound.
Every movement.
Gone.
Only darkness remained.
And those eyes.
Ancient.
Endless.
Watching.
I couldn't tell how large they were.
My mind kept changing the answer.
A planet.
A star.
An entire universe.
None of them felt right.
Beside me, Kael stood perfectly still.
For the first time since I had met him, he looked completely unprepared.
Not cautious.
Not calculating.
Terrified.
"Kael..."
My voice sounded distant.
Like it belonged to someone else.
His gaze never left the darkness.
"We need to leave."
The words came out immediately.
Instinctively.
As though every survival instinct he possessed was screami
