The night burned behind them.


    Smoke and fire swallowed the remnants of the Weaving Society, the once-hidden stronghold now nothing but ruins. Shadows danced in the distant inferno, figures still locked in battle, but Raine didn’t look back.


    He couldn’t.


    Ezren was gone.


    Kael’s grip on his wrist was iron-tight, dragging him through the broken outskirts of the city. His breath was ragged, his legs unsteady, but Kael never slowed.


    They had to move.


    Not because they were being chased.


    But because the Anchor had let them go.


    The thought twisted in Raine’s mind like a blade. The Arcanum never spared Abyss-touched. He had seen their work before—entire bloodlines erased, history rewritten to pretend they had never existed. The Weaving Society had hidden him, had trained him, and for that, they had been destroyed.


    And yet.


    The Anchor had hesitated.


    It had turned toward him, its unshakable presence pressing against reality, and watched. Like it had been waiting for something.


    Then it had let them leave.


    Not because they had won.


    Because it had chosen to.


    The thought made Raine’s skin crawl.


    Kael didn’t stop running until they reached the outskirts of the lower ruins, where the last remnants of civilization bled into wilderness. Here, the air was still thick with the weight of the Arcanum’s magic, but the city’s firelight had begun to fade into the distance.


    Finally, Kael pulled him to a stop beneath the crumbling remains of an old aqueduct. The silence that followed was suffocating.


    Neither of them spoke for a long moment.


    Then Kael let go of his wrist and turned to face him, his expression unreadable.


    “You good?” he asked.


    Raine exhaled sharply. His hands were still shaking. “I don’t know.”


    Kael gave him a once-over, then nodded to himself, like that was all the confirmation he needed. “We don’t have time for you to not know. Keep moving.”


    Raine gritted his teeth but didn’t argue.


    They slipped into the underbrush beyond the ruins, where the dirt roads leading out of the city had become overgrown with time. Kael moved first, checking their path, his stance still coiled and ready to fight. Raine followed, but his mind was still tangled in the battle they had left behind.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    Not just Ezren’s sacrifice. Not just the Anchor’s unshakable presence.


    The Abyss.


    He had reached for something.


    And something had reached back.


    It had been waiting for him.


    And the Anchor had seen it.


    A shiver crawled down his spine.


    Kael must have noticed his expression because he muttered, “Whatever you’re thinking, stop thinking it.”


    Raine shot him a look. “Not really how that works.”


    Kael huffed, but there was no humor in it. “Fine. Then say it out loud.”


    Raine hesitated. But the words were already at the edge of his tongue.


    “The Anchor should have killed me.”


    Kael didn’t deny it.


    Raine continued, his voice quieter now. “It let us go. That doesn’t make sense.”


    Kael adjusted his grip on his sword. “Doesn’t matter why. We take the gift and run.”


    Raine shook his head. “That’s not an answer.”


    Kael stopped walking and turned, his eyes dark. “No. But it’s the answer you get.”


    Raine clenched his jaw. “You saw it too.”


    Kael’s expression flickered—just for a second. A crack in the unshakable confidence he always carried. He exhaled sharply.


    “Yeah,” he admitted. “I saw it.”


    He ran a hand through his hair, his stance shifting. “I don’t know what the hell you did back there, but that thing wasn’t just hunting you. It was—” He hesitated, searching for the right word.


    “Studying.”


    Raine felt something cold settle in his stomach.


    Kael shook his head. “And whatever it saw, it liked it enough to let you walk out of there alive.”


    The words left a hollow feeling in Raine’s chest.


    The Arcanum erased Abyss-touched.


    So why hadn’t the Anchor?


    The air between them stretched. Kael’s shoulders dropped slightly, but his tone remained sharp. “Dwelling on it won’t change anything. We need to put distance between us and that thing before it changes its mind.”


    Raine nodded, forcing the thoughts to the back of his mind. Later. He could pick apart the reasons later. Right now, they had to move.


    They continued down the overgrown path, their pace steady. The city’s glow had vanished beyond the hills, and the night stretched open before them—an empty road, a wilderness ahead.


    Then they saw the figure standing in their path.


    Kael’s blade was drawn before Raine could register what was happening.


    Raine stiffened.


    It wasn’t another enforcer.


    It wasn’t an Arcanum soldier.


    It was Alden.


    His clothes were torn, his hands bloodied, his expression tight with exhaustion. But he was standing. And he was waiting for them.


    Kael didn’t lower his weapon.


    “Really starting to hate this city,” Alden muttered.


    Raine exhaled sharply. “You’re still alive.”


    Alden scoffed. “Barely. Thanks to that Anchor.”


    Kael’s grip on his blade didn’t shift. “You were fighting it?”


    Alden let out a dry laugh. “No. I was running from it. I was still in the lower halls when everything started falling apart. I barely made it out before the whole damn Society collapsed.” His voice darkened. “Ezren didn’t.”


    Raine’s chest tightened.


    Alden looked at him then, eyes sharp. “But you already knew that, didn’t you?”


    Raine swallowed hard. “Yeah.”


    Alden didn’t respond. His jaw clenched, but the emotion passed quickly, buried beneath something steadier.


    “Then I’m coming with you.”


    Kael actually laughed at that. “The hell you are.”


    Alden raised a brow. “You got a better idea?”


    “Yeah,” Kael said. “You go that way.” He pointed toward the opposite direction.


    Alden didn’t move. “The Arcanum isn’t just after you anymore. You think they’re gonna let any of us go after tonight? The Weaving Society is gone. Anyone they don’t kill, they’ll track down eventually. You think you’ll be safe on your own?”


    Kael’s expression flickered, but his grip on his sword didn’t shift.


    Alden exhaled. “Look, I don’t like you. And I sure as hell don’t trust you.” His gaze flicked to Raine. “But I don’t have a better option right now. And neither do you.”


    The words hung between them.


    Kael scowled. Then, finally, he sheathed his sword.


    “Fine,” he muttered. “But if you slow us down, I’ll kill you myself.”


    Alden smirked. “Fair.”


    Raine exhaled slowly.


    The three of them turned toward the open road.


    Ezren was gone. The Weaving Society was gone.


    And the Anchor was still out there.


    Watching.


    Waiting.


    And Raine had no idea why.