The door did not creak.
It groaned.
Stone twisted like tendons, pulling apart with a deep organic moan that rattled through the cathedral walls. The air thickened as the threshold revealed itself—an arched tunnel, descending into darkness lit by faint pulses of gold and violet. The resonance mirrored Lucian and Rowan's exact sync frequency. Every beat of light was a mirror of them.
Ari stared at the glow, tension in her jaw. "That's not random. It's coded to their core signatures."
Quinn's voice was quiet. "The Rift remembers people—not just events. Their resonance leaves a scar. The stronger the bond, the deeper it imprints."
Vespera said nothing, but she'd gone still.
Lucian adjusted Rowan against his side, helping him rise to his feet. Rowan's steps were unsteady, but his grip on Lucian's forearm was firm. "Let's end this," he whispered.
They crossed the threshold.
---
The descent was steep.
The walls grew stranger with every step—stone and crystal laced with something almost organic, like fossilized tissue. The corridor spiraled deeper into the Rift's heart, until the ceiling pressed close and the resonance in the walls pulsed in time with Lucian's breaths.
Symbols began to form—etched into the floor, the walls, the very air. Memories.
Rowan stumbled.
He clutched his head, gasping. The weight in his skull grew unbearable, like jagged hooks digging through his thoughts.
"I hear it—" he whispered. "I hear them. Us."
The corridor answered with sound.
Lucian's voice, twisted in echo: "You let me break."
Rowan's scream: "Don't leave me!"
Laughter. A child's voice. Then silence again.
Rowan fell—but he never hit the ground.
Lucian caught him.
He dropped everything, lunging forward, arms wrapping tightly around Rowan's collapsing form just before he struck the cold stone. The weight of Rowan in his arms sent Lucian to his knees, but he held on like the world would end if he let go.
Rowan convulsed in his grip, body arching as pain surged through him. His eyes rolled back, foam touching the corner of his lips, and his hands clawed weakly at Lucian's chest.
Lucian's breath hitched. "No—no, no, stay with me," he choked, voice cracking. "I've got you. I'm here."
But Rowan didn't respond. His body spasmed once more before going terrifyingly still.
Lucian pressed his forehead to Rowan's and screamed for help.
But even as others ran to assist, Lucian's hands wouldn't stop trembling. He clutched Rowan tighter, blood from Rowan's nose and ears seeping into the fabric of his uniform. "Please," he whispered hoarsely. "You can't leave me. You don't get to say those things and vanish."
His voice broke.
He shook Rowan gently, frantically, trying to rouse him. "Wake up. Wake up, damn you!"
A faint pulse flickered under his fingers—too weak.
Lucian's panic threatened to collapse into something deeper. Something uncontrollable.
And then the chamber responded.
The floor shuddered beneath them.
---
Lucian dropped beside him. "Rowan! Breathe—stay with me!"
The others shouted. Vespera ran forward, pulse already gathering in her hands.
But Rowan didn't respond. He convulsed once—twice—then went terrifyingly still.
Lucian pressed his palm to Rowan's chest, trying to sync. The resonance didn't respond.
"Don't do this," Lucian whispered, trembling. "Not here. Not now."
The resonance flickered.
Then screamed.
A shockwave burst from Rowan's body, slamming Lucian backward. The walls pulsed violently.
The tunnel screamed back.
---
Monsters poured from the dark.
Not the ones from the surface—these were worse. Skinless, eyeless things with limbs like razors and spines twitching with exposed nerve cables. They scuttled across the walls, some dragging themselves, others slamming down from above in twitching spasms of movement.
Quinn barked a command. "Form up—protect Rowan!"
Lucian was already up, blood on his cheek, fury in his eyes. He raised one hand and Psychic Control lashed out, grabbing two of the creatures midair and slamming them together with bone-shattering force.
Ari screamed as one landed behind her—Quinn was already there, stepping in close, his arm brushing hers as his Mental Block surged outward to slow the creature. Ari twisted in tandem, knives flashing, severing its limbs in a synchronized, fluid motion that spoke of countless battles fought side by side. Black ichor sprayed across their boots.
"You okay?" Quinn asked without looking.
"Always," Ari muttered, eyes burning. "Just stay close."
"I'm not leaving your side," he said simply.
Juno ignited a blast of fire from her palms, roasting a wave of them into writhing husks.
Elias stood in front of Rowan, eyes glowing with quiet wrath. His corrosive mist engulfed the first wave of monsters, melting them into steaming pools of acidic flesh.
Alexander threw up a shield—just in time for three beasts to slam into it, their screeches muffled behind the barrier.
And still they came.
The corridor ran red with ichor. Chunks of flayed muscle and shattered bone painted the walls. Lucian fought like a blade given form—flashes of violet light carving through bodies, each strike driven by panic and rage.
Rowan twitched on the ground, blood seeping from his nose, his ears, his mouth.
Then—he screamed.
It wasn't a cry of pain.
It was a sound torn from the soul, the kind of scream that split dimensions.
The monsters froze.
Then dropped, all at once.
Lucian dropped to his knees beside Rowan, who panted in ragged, wet gasps.
Rowan's eyes opened—but they weren't his.
Not entirely.
"I saw it," he whispered. "I saw him."
Lucian leaned in. "What did you see?"
Rowan turned his head slowly toward the darkness ahead.
"I saw me… and I was smiling."
Then the walls didn't just tremble—they convulsed.
A massive groan echoed from the depths beyond, and the air itself turned heavy, thick like molasses. A second heartbeat began to thrum beneath their feet—deep, ancient, and wrong.
The far wall split open—not like a door, but like flesh tearing.
A howl of psychic pressure burst outward, flattening some to their knees. Vespera fell back, clutching her temples. Elias staggered against a pillar, his corrosion flickering wild.
Juno screamed as shards of Rift glass burst from the wall and embedded into her arm and shoulder. Ari turned just in time to shield her, but a tendril of black mass whipped across her side, slamming her into the wall with a sickening crunch.
"Ari!" Quinn shouted, his voice breaking as he sprinted across the chamber.
He dropped to his knees beside her, hands already glowing as he tried to assess the damage. Blood soaked through her side—too much. She coughed once, pain flashing in her eyes, but still tried to push herself up.
"No, no—don't move," Quinn said quickly, voice barely holding together. He pressed his hands to the wound, activating a suppression seal to halt the bleeding. "Just stay with me. You're okay. You're going to be okay."
Ari's breath hitched. "Not… the worst I've had."
Quinn let out a sharp, wet laugh, eyes glassy. "Liar."
She reached up weakly, fingers brushing his cheek. "Still here."
He grabbed her hand, kissed her knuckles. "You better stay that way."
But even as the seal slowed the bleeding, Quinn's hands trembled.
The others regrouped around them, weapons raised and breath ragged, but the silence between Quinn and Ari said more than any words.
"She's not fit to fight," Elias said quietly, stepping in beside them. "We'll need to reorganize."
"No," Ari growled, trying to rise again, but winced violently and fell back. Quinn steadied her instantly.
"You are not pushing through this," he said, tone suddenly sharp, desperate. "I'm not watching you bleed out on a Rift floor."
Ari's jaw clenched. "Then go. Finish it. I'll hold the line from here."
"I'm not leaving you," Quinn hissed, eyes searching hers. "Don't ask me to."
She reached up, brushing the edge of his jaw with her bloodied fingers. "This isn't about you or me. It's about them," she said, glancing toward Rowan and Lucian.
Vespera stepped forward silently, her gaze sweeping over the two. "I'll stay. I'll anchor her resonance and keep the pressure from spreading."
Quinn didn't move at first. But then he leaned down, pressing a long, shaking kiss to Ari's forehead.
"I'll come back," he whispered. "I swear it."
She gave him a faint smile. "You better."
Out of the opening emerged something vast—its form unclear, shifting between solid and vapor, with a face that didn't exist until you looked away.
And it was watching Rowan.
Lucian's eyes burned.
He stood, lifting Rowan's limp body in his arms, eyes locked on the creature.
"You're not taking him."