Aurelia woke to silence.
Not the peaceful kind but the kind that presses against the ears until it becomes unbearable.
Stone surrounded her. Ancient, cold, layered with veins of dim violet light that pulsed like a slow heartbeat beneath the rock. She lay on a circular platform carved with symbols she did not recognize, though her blood reacted to them instantly.
Her chest rose sharply as memory returned.
The fall.
The Voidborne.
Kane screams her name.
The earth swallowed her whole.
“Kane…” she whispered hoarsely.
No answer.
She pushed herself upright, ignoring the ache rippling through her limbs. Her body felt… altered. Not injured. Not weak.
Different.
Power sat beneath her skin like a coiled storm quieter than before, but heavier. More deliberate.
The sanctuary stretched o
