The second heartbeat did not fade, it grew louder and the cathedral trembled as if two worlds were trying to occupy the same space. Dust fell from the vaulted ceiling in thin gray lines, and the stained-glass windows rattled inside their frames. The suspended portal darkened until it resembled a wound in reality rather than a holy construct.
Kael did not move.
The red thread of resonance remained connected between him and the portal. He could feel Eron’s presence inside the divine illusion, but the feeling was no longer distant or symbolic. It felt physical, immediate, and dangerously real.
Valther raised his staff again. “Sever it now,” Valther commanded.
Kael shook his head slowly. “You cannot cut a bond that the gods themselves forced into existence,” Kael said.
Valther’s expressio
