The Presence That Waited
Ridge’s heart hammered as the darkness beyond the horizon stretched further, swallowing mountains, rivers, and forests alike. The air was thick with tension, charged with energies that clawed at his skin and rattled his bones. The Hunger had vanished for now, retreating to lick its wounds, but the new presence—something older, deeper, and unimaginably vast—was awake.
He could feel it watching him, not with eyes, but with memory. The pulse of ancient consciousness ran through the world, brushing against the Heartfire Ridge still held within him, probing for weakness, testing the bounds of his resilience. Every ley line screamed in response, thrumming with power and fear.
Aria’s voice carried to him through the threads that bound her to the world. It was layered a
