The light from the gate pulsed—soft at first, then blinding.
It wasn't just illumination. It breathed.
Each flare of gold and crimson rippled through the broken cave, crawling over the walls like living veins of light. The reflection shimmered across the black water, catching the serpent's slick, oily scales until everything around them glowed like molten glass.
No one moved.
No one dared to.
The air itself seemed to hold its breath.
"What… the hell is that?" Mio's voice finally broke the silence, low and hoarse, his eyes fixed on the impossible glow before them.
Kairo didn't respond. His gaze was locked on the gate, jaw tense, eyes burning faintly red in its reflection.
His aura flickered around him—unstable, uncertain. The faint hiss of evaporating blood magic crackled in the silence.
Mel took an uneasy step forward, voice trembling somewhere between hope and disbelief. "Is that… is that our exit?"
