The original Elias stepped onto the platform, and the world held its breath.
He was not the man Elias had fought before. His body was a ruin—flesh torn, bones visible through gaps in his skin—but the green fire in his eyes burned brighter than ever. The fragments swirled around him like loyal hounds, their tendrils reaching toward the children. The ritual circle had shattered, and the key fragments lay scattered on the stone, their light dimming.
"Did you really think I would stay dead?" the original said, his voice a wet rasp. "The deep is patient. It rebuilt me, piece by piece, so I could witness this moment."
Elias stepped forward, placing himself between the original and the children. The door inside his chest was wide open, the cold of the deep pouring through him. It wanted to con
