What had once been a lush marshland was now a writhing, desolate wasteland. The ground was cracked and blackened with pockets of earth bubbling dark, oily sludge. Far below, a sea of twisted, shambling figures moved, walking corpses stretching out in all directions, their forms barely distinguishable from the scorched and ruined earth.
“This can’t be right,” Elara murmured as they flew closer. The marshland was unrecognizable, as though it had been wiped clean by something unspeakable.
“It’s already begun.” Taren’s face had gone pale, his gaze focused on the sea of the dead. He swiveled toward Bran, panic in his eyes. “Are we too late?”
“No, my doves.” The Phoenix’s voice rose around them, deep and sorrowful. “It can’t complete its work without me.”
The devastation stretched as far as they could see, mounds of blackened bones, skeletal trees half-submerged in the murky, toxic remnants of water, and the faint glow of something dark and malevolent pulsing at the center of it all.
Kaelith, usually unshaken, stared out at the scene, his face pinched with an emotion Rynna had never seen in him before—disturbance. His eyes trailed across the wreckage, his lips parting in a rare moment of speechlessness before he found his voice.
“With respect, Mistress,” he said quietly. “If it needs you to complete its work, you should stay far away.”
“Indeed.” Her voice hummed in a low, mournful song. “A paradox. Since you cannot hope to prevail without me.” She sighed, the note vibrating through Rynna, resonating with subtle but unmistakable dread. “A sacrifice will need to be made.”
“I don’t like the sound of that.” Fenn’s entire body went rigid. “But if there must be a sacrifice, it should be me. I’ve already cheated death.”
“Fenn!” She knew him well enough to understand that he’d throw himself in front of any danger to protect those with him, maybe even Kaelith.
“Perhaps, Crimson Wolf, theWeavingwill call you home,” Hika answered.
Rynna’s head jerked at the word.
But before she could speak, the Phoenix added, “And perhaps not.”
“There!” Bran interrupted, pointing ahead.
In the distance, the earth fell away into a gaping spiral pit, its edges rough and raw, like an open wound in the world itself. Dark smoke coiled lazily from the cracks in the stone, and the walls buzzed with a sickly glow.
A chill rushed down Rynna’s spine. This wasn’t just a battle. It was far darker, far worse than anything she had imagined.
“How are we supposed to land?” Taren grimaced. “The dead are everywhere.”
All eyes turned to Fenn.
He stood still, scanning the writhing landscape beneath them—the countless undead cresting like a tide across the blackened terrain. The muscle in his jaw ticked as he tracked their movements.
Then, with a short puff of air, he spoke.
“Bran. Can you bring us lower? Close enough to see what we’re dealing with? We need to evaluate our options.”
“Sure, boss.” Bran nodded. “Hika?”
Her great wings tilted in answer, and slowly, cautiously, they began to descend through the swirling haze. Then the air shimmered—warped and wrong. Without warning, Hika reared back with a piercing cry, her entire form convulsing midair against an unseen wall, stopping her cold.
Her wings flared open, straining to hold altitude under the crushing force pushing them away. Wind howled in violent bursts as she fought to stay airborne, clawing for space between them and the encroaching barrier.
Kaelith swore as he grabbed Rynna’s arm, while Taren dropped to one knee, clutching the Phoenix for balance. But just as they teetered on the brink, flames surged upward, anchoring them in place as she strained against the invisible force.
“Hika!” Bran called. “What’s wrong?”
“I cannot pass. A wall of void rot wrapped in agony blocks the way.” The Phoenix flinched again. “You will all perish if I try to drop you through.”
Kaelith braced himself with a curse, clinging to Rynna as Hika pitched unevenly in the sky.
“We have to land,” Taren called out, squinting into the haze below. “I need to examine the barrier. See what’s anchoring it so we can get through.”
“Land where?” Elara looked down. “The ground’s crawling with them.” She hugged herself. “I didn’t even know there were that many people in the whole world.”
