Author's POV
They emerged into blinding sunlight.
Snow stretched in every direction, the frozen wasteland glittering under the pale winter sun. The wind howled across the plains, carrying the scent of freedom—clean, cold, untainted by the darkness of the Hollow. The team stumbled out of the collapsing tunnel, their bodies battered, their spirits broken but alive. One by one, they fell to their knees in the snow, gasping for breath, weeping with relief.
But Knox collapsed.
The shard was gone, destroyed by the Rite of Severance, buried beneath the rubble of the Hollow. But the damage remained. His body was shutting down, the years of corruption and t*****e finally catching up to him. His skin was pale as death, his breathing shallow and irregular, his heart beating in a faltering rhythm
