The ground would not stop pulsing. Every vibration beneath their boots now carried a rhythm — heavier, slower, almost like breathing. The crimson haze swirled thickly above, casting long shadows that twisted even when none of them moved.
"Back the way we came," Mara ordered, her voice sharp. "Whatever's inside that thing, I'm not waiting for it to wake up."
Jonas nodded, already checking his ammo. "For once, I agree."
They turned from the fortress and began retracing their steps — but after only a few minutes of walking, the horizon warped. The black plains stretched farther instead of shrinking, the ruins they'd left behind fading into the haze as though swallowed.
Liora frowned. "Wait. We came through here already."
Selene looked around, her eyes narrowing. "No. The landscape is changing."
The hum grew louder, shifting into a slow, thrumming pulse that matched their heartbeats. The ground beneath them rippled like disturbed water.
Eris felt a tug in his chest again. His veins of silver flared, brighter than before. He staggered, clutching at his chest. "It's not letting us go."
The others stopped.
Selene's expression turned grim. "The Heart recognizes him now. We're inside its memory."
Jonas frowned. "Meaning what exactly?"
"Meaning," Selene said quietly, "we're walking inside something alive."
A low rumble rolled across the plain — long, drawn-out, like the exhale of a sleeping beast. The crimson sky dimmed, the color bleeding into deeper shades of black. The chains above rattled once, sending sparks of light cascading through the haze.
Liora grabbed Eris's arm. "We have to move. Any direction, just—move."
They ran.
The plains shifted beneath their feet, the ground bending into slopes where none had existed before. The hum became a steady rhythm, pounding through the soil like a colossal heartbeat. In the distance, new shapes began to rise — black monoliths stretching from the earth like fingers. Each one was covered in shifting runes that pulsed in time with Eris's own glow.
Jonas fired a shot into one out of reflex. The bullet vanished midair, dissolving into light.
"Yeah," he muttered. "That's about right."
Mara's breath came heavy as she ran beside him. "The realm's rewriting itself. We're not walking out of here."
Selene stopped suddenly, raising her staff. The sigils along its length flared, throwing pale light in all directions. "Wait—listen!"
The hum stopped.
The silence that followed was so absolute it hurt.
Then, faintly, beneath the fortress, came a single sound:
A heartbeat.
Slow. Immense. Real.
Eris turned toward the fortress, his silver light flickering uncontrollably. The voice that followed wasn't heard — it arrived inside his mind, deep and resonant, ancient beyond words.
"Descendant. You carry what once sealed me. And now… the chain weakens."
The chains above trembled violently. One of them cracked with a thunderous echo, sending waves of red fire into the sky.
Jonas took a step back. "Tell me that was just the wind."
Eris shook his head slowly, eyes locked on the fortress.
"No. Something's waking up."