The fractures did not merely widen.
They synchronized.
Across the voided sky, seams of broken reality pulsed in a shared rhythm, as if responding to a single heartbeat one that did not belong to Elara, nor to the Claimant, but to the gathering hunger pressing against the boundaries she had just claimed.
Kharos hovered above the broken platform, authority coiled around him like a crown made of knives. His presence scraped against Elara’s field, testing, probing each touch sending tremors through her spine.
“You feel it now,” he said softly. “Ownership invites challenge.”
Elara knelt beside Draven, hands glowing as she struggled to stabilize the bond heaving between them. The connection flickered silver, then white, then dangerously thin.
“Stay with me,” she whispered, voice breaking.
