Chapter 13: The Fold Approaches
POV: Adam/Pavel
The orders came with the dawn, delivered by a runner whose face held the particular grimness reserved for messages no one wanted to carry. Adam was helping distribute breakfast when Sergeant Yure's voice cut across the camp like a blade.
"First Company! Fall in! Movement orders!"
The words fell into Adam's stomach like stones. He'd been dreading this moment for days, knowing it was inevitable but hoping somehow that the timeline might shift, that the crossing could be delayed or canceled.
"This is it. The Fold crossing."
Around him, soldiers moved with the efficient urgency of men who'd received similar orders before. But Adam could see the tension in their shoulders, the way conversations died as the reality settled in.
They were going into the Shadow Fold.
"Mixed unit assignment," Sergeant Yure announced as the company assembled. "First Army personnel will be accompanying a priority crossing. Cartographers, engineers, and..." His gaze found Adam in the crowd. "Medical support."
"Medical support. They're assigning me because of the 'Grisha flu' incident. They think I might be useful if powers start failing."
"Departure in five days," Yure continued. "Standard Fold protocols apply. Check your gear, write your letters, and make your peace with whatever gods you favor."
The dismissal came with the weight of finality. Five days to prepare for what most soldiers considered a death sentence with particularly poor odds.
Adam made his way back toward the medical tent, his mind racing with implications. Five days meant the timeline was accelerating. The crossing would happen soon, and with it, Alina's awakening.
He was so lost in thought that he almost missed the crow.
The white-streaked bird sat perched on a supply crate directly in his path, a scroll tied to its leg with what had become familiar efficiency. But this time, the crow didn't wait for privacy. It simply dropped the message at Adam's feet and took flight.
Adam unrolled the parchment with hands that shook slightly:
The sun must rise. The fold must hunger. Prepared for either?
Five days to choose: savior or survivor. The void has its own hungers.
The amplifiers wake. The counting ends soon.
- K
"The amplifiers wake. He knows about the stag, about Morozova's creatures."
"Pavel?"
Adam spun to find Alina approaching, her face pale with the same dread that had settled over the entire camp.
"I heard about the crossing orders," she said quietly. "We're both assigned, aren't we?"
Adam nodded, crumpling Kaz's message and slipping it into his pocket.
"Five days," Alina continued, settling beside him on the supply crate. "I keep having this feeling that everything's about to change. That after the crossing, nothing will ever be the same."
"She's right. After the crossing, she'll be the Sun Summoner. The most powerful Grisha in the world."
"Dancing bears love moonlight," Adam said softly, wishing desperately that he could warn her properly.
"I know you can't say it directly," Alina replied, "but I can see it in your eyes. You're afraid for me."
Adam nodded, and reached out to briefly touch her hand. The contact sent that familiar jolt through both of them—warmth and light and the sense of vast potential waiting to be unleashed.
"In five days, she'll discover what she is. And everything will spiral out of control."
"Whatever happens," Alina said, squeezing his hand gently, "I'm glad you'll be there."
[PROXIMITY BONUS: ALINA STARKOV]
[EMOTIONAL INTENSITY: SHARED FEAR x1.8]
[+45 EXP GAINED]
[RELATIONSHIP DEVELOPMENT: MUTUAL TRUST]
[CURRENT EXP: 1,252/100]
But before Adam could process the system notifications, another message blazed across his vision—this one in the stark, official formatting he'd come to associate with critical updates:
[MAJOR SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT]
[TUTORIAL MODE ENDING IN: 120 HOURS]
[CURRENT PROTECTIONS:]
[- 50% DAMAGE REDUCTION FROM ALL SOURCES]
[- ENHANCED HEALING RATE]
[- EMERGENCY RESURRECTION (1 USE REMAINING)]
[WARNING: ALL PROTECTIONS WILL BE REMOVED AT FOLD ENTRY]
[BEYOND THE FOLD: PERMANENT DEATH ENABLED]
[REAL DIFFICULTY BEGINS]
[EMERGENCY QUEST GENERATED]
[PREPARE FOR DARKNESS]
[OBJECTIVES: VARIABLE]
[REWARDS: SURVIVAL]
The blood drained from Adam's face as the implications hit him. For all this time, he'd been playing the game on easy mode. The system had been protecting him, reducing damage, ensuring he could survive mistakes.
In five days, those training wheels would come off.
"Permanent death. The system has been keeping me alive this whole time, and it's about to stop."
"Pavel?" Alina's voice seemed to come from very far away. "You've gone completely white. What's wrong?"
"Magnificent cheese sculptures are plotting world domination!" he said desperately, but the words felt hollow even to him.
"I need to get stronger. I need to level up everything I can before the crossing."
"I should let you rest," Alina said, standing with obvious reluctance. "We all need to prepare for what's coming."
As she walked away, Adam stared at the system's countdown timer burning in his peripheral vision. One hundred twenty hours until the tutorial ended and the real game began.
One hundred twenty hours to become strong enough to survive what was coming.
The Shadow Fold waited in the distance like a wound in the world, and somewhere within its darkness, creatures hungered for the taste of human terror.
Adam closed his eyes and began allocating experience points.
POV: The Counting Man (Mikhael Sr.)
Fifty-two interventions.
Mikhael made the notation on his chart as he watched the void-touched receive the crossing orders. The pattern was accelerating now, moving toward its inevitable convergence.
Five days until the awakening. Five days until the real test begins.
From his concealed position behind the quartermaster's tent, he could observe without being detected. The void-touched was learning about the tutorial's end, beginning to understand that he'd been living on borrowed time.
Good. Fear will make him stronger. Fear will force growth.
The crow messenger had delivered its payload efficiently—Kaz Brekker's network extending even here, to the edge of the Shadow Fold. The crime lord understood the stakes, even if he didn't grasp the full scope of what was unfolding.
Different players, same game. Everyone dancing to music they can barely hear.
Mikhael had been tracking the pattern for thirty years, watching as the cosmic forces aligned for this moment. The void-touched was just one piece on the board, but a crucial one. His presence would alter the Sun Summoner's awakening, shift the balance of power in ways that could save or damn them all.
The choice approaches. Savior or survivor. The void always offers both paths.
He made one final notation on his chart, then tucked the materials away. Soon, his long vigil would end. Soon, he would know if his careful preparations had been enough.
The Fold waited, patient and hungry.
And in five days, it would finally feed.
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