The ground beneath our feet began to change. It was no longer smooth stone but rough, uneven earth covered with strange marks that shone with faint red light. The air was heavy, thick, and almost alive. Every breath I took tasted like metal.
Liz walked ahead, her sword still glowing faintly. The silver light it gave off was the only thing keeping the shadows from closing in around us. I could hear strange sounds, soft and broken, like voices calling from behind walls.
"Stay close to me," Liz said without turning around. Her voice was calm but tight, like a rope pulled too hard.
I quickened my pace until I was right beside her. "Why? What's here?" I asked.
She glanced at me, her gray eyes sharp and cold. "This is their den."
I frowned. "Whose den?"
She stopped walking. Slowly, she turned to face me. The light from her sword reflected in her eyes, and for a moment they looked like mirrors. "The Hunters," she said quietly.
The name sent a chill crawling up my spine. "The Hunters?" I repeated. "Who are they?"
"They are the ones who serve the Lord of the Border," she said. Her voice dropped to almost a whisper. "They hunt for souls. lost, broken, or wandering. Just any soul. They find what the Border cannot claim, and they feed it to him."
My throat tightened. "Feed him?"
She nodded once. "Yes. Souls. Especially those that do not belong here… like yours."
I swallowed hard, trying not to show fear. But every sound, every flicker of shadow made me tremble.
Then I saw them.
At first, they looked like figures moving far away, shapes that shifted and bent as if the air itself was melting. But as they came closer, their forms grew sharper and wrong. Their limbs moved in jumps, twisting in ways no body should. Their teeth snapped in the dark, shining wetly, and their eyes glowed like tiny fireflies, hundreds of them scattered in the blackness.
A low hiss filled the air.
I stumbled back, bumping into a wall of rock. My chest felt tight. "Liz"
But she had already stepped forward. Her sword rose, glowing brighter now. "Don't let them touch you!" she shouted.
The first Hunter lunged from the dark. Its mouth opened too wide, splitting across its face. Liz swung her sword, and the silver blade cut through it cleanly. The creature screamed a sound that made my bones shake, and then its body broke apart into ashes that blew away like smoke.
For a glowbeat, everything was still. Then the others began to crawl forward. Dozens of them. Their laughter was broken and wrong, more like choking than joy.
"Run!" Liz shouted.
But my legs wouldn't move. The crack in the ground ahead of us was glowing, brighter and brighter, like it was calling to me.
"Move!" Liz yelled again, slashing at another Hunter. The light from her sword flared, burning the darkness away.
A Hunter crawled out from behind a rock, its fingers sharp as claws. It leapt at me. I screamed and threw up my hands to block it.
Then light.
It burst from my palm like a flash of lightning, white and pure. It hit the Hunter in the chest. The creature shrieked and turned to dust, vanishing before it even hit the ground.
For a moment, all I could do was stare at my hand. The light was fading now, but I could still feel it humming under my skin.
"What… what was that?" I whispered.
Liz turned to me. Her eyes widened. Shock flickered across her pale face. "You… You're unbound."
"Unbound?" I asked. "What does that mean?"
But before she could answer, three more Hunters rushed forward. Liz spun and struck one, her blade cutting through it. The other two lunged at me, teeth snapping.
I didn't even think. My body moved on its own. The same light burst out again, this time stronger. It slammed into them with a sound like thunder. When the light faded, nothing was left but drifting ash.
Silence filled the cavern. The Hunters were gone. The crack still glowed, soft and steady now, like a slow heartbeat.
Liz stood still for a long time, her sword still raised. Then she slowly lowered it and sheathed it at her side. "You're dangerous," she said quietly.
"I… I didn't mean to," I said, staring at my hands. The glow was fading now, leaving only faint warmth behind. "It just happened."
"I know," she said. "That's what makes it dangerous."
I looked around at the empty cavern. The ground was covered in ash, and the air still smelled like burnt metal. The light from the crack painted everything in a strange, ghostly glow.
Liz walked closer to it, the silver of her sword reflecting in the light. She didn't look back as she spoke. "The Watcher was right about you."
I frowned. "The Watcher?"
She nodded. "He told me that someone would come, someone caught between both worlds. Someone who didn't belong to the living or the dead." She turned to face me again. "You are that someone."
"I don't understand," I said softly.
"You wouldn't yet," she said. "But you will."
I stared at the crack again. The glow was stronger now, and it seemed to breathe. The air around it pulsed in and out, slow and steady. It was beautiful and terrifying.
"What happens if I touch it?" I asked.
Liz moved fast. Her hand shot out and grabbed my wrist before I could take another step. "Don't," she said sharply. "The cracks devour. They take everything. Even light. Even souls. Only the Watcher can close them."
"Then why bring me here?" I asked, confused and frightened.
Liz's expression softened just a little. "Because maybe… maybe you can do what even the Watcher cannot."
Her words hung in the air like a whisper of thunder.
"What do you mean?"
"The cracks are growing," she said quietly. "They appear faster now, and each one brings more Hunters with it. The Border is falling apart. If nothing stops it, both worlds yours and mine, will collapse into the void."
I felt a cold wave rush through me. "And you think I can stop that?"
"I don't know," she said. "But when you used your power… the crack dimmed for a moment. I saw it."
I turned to the crack again. The red light inside it flickered weakly now, like a dying flame. I took a cautious step forward.
"Careful," Liz warned, but her voice was softer this time.
I raised my hand toward the crack. The glow from my skin returned, faint but there. The air trembled. The crack pulsed once, twice and then grew quiet.
Liz stared, eyes wide. "You did that," she said.
I lowered my hand. "I don't know how."
"It doesn't matter," she said. "You just proved you can affect it."
I looked down at my hands again. "But if I can… doesn't that mean the Lord of the Border will want me too?"
Liz nodded slowly. "Yes. And he will send more Hunters now that he knows you exist."
I felt my chest tighten. "Then what do we do?"
"We keep moving," she said firmly. "We find the others."
"Others?"
"The other Unbounds," she said. "Those like you. Those who were neither claimed by life nor taken by death. Together, maybe you can do what one cannot."
She turned away from the crack and started walking deeper into the cavern. I followed, glancing back one last time. The light inside the crack had dimmed, but it still pulsed faintly, like it was waiting.
The path ahead was narrow and winding. The air grew colder with each step. I could hear distant sounds like water dripping, rocks shifting, and maybe… voices.
"Liz?" I said quietly. "What are the Unbounds like?"
She didn't look back. "Different," she said. "Each carries something that ties them to both worlds. A wound, a memory, a promise. They are powerful… and broken."
I felt uneasy. "And what if they don't like me?"
"They will," she said simply. "They have to. You are the key."
Her words confused me, but before I could ask more, the tunnel opened up into a wide passage. Strange symbols were carved into the walls like circles, straight lines, and spirals that glowed softly as we walked past.
"This way," Liz said. "It won't be long now."
As we moved deeper, the voices returned, stronger this time. I couldn't tell if they came from the walls or from inside my own head. They spoke in a language I didn't understand, but somehow, I felt they were calling my name.
I slowed down, looking around nervously. "Do you hear that?"
Liz nodded. "Ignore them. They're the echoes of the lost souls trapped between cracks."
I shivered. "Why don't they move on?"
"Because the Lord won't let them," she said. "He feeds on what they leave behind like their pain and their memories."
The thought made me sick. "And we're walking through his den?"
"Yes," she said. "But don't be afraid. As long as my sword burns, they won't come near."
The passage sloped upward now, and faint light shimmered ahead. I could see air moving, like mist spinning in sunlight.
"We're close," Liz said.
"Close to what?"
She smiled faintly. "To where the others wait."
We stepped out onto a ledge overlooking a deep valley. The sky above was gray and torn, full of drifting shadows. Far below, I saw faint lights moving small, flickering shapes, like candles in the dark.
"Are those the Unbounds?" I asked.
"Yes," she said softly. "They've been waiting for us."
I stared at the valley below. The lights flickered, and for a moment, I thought I saw figures moving among them, something like tall, strange figures glowing faintly.
A feeling rose inside me; maybe fear, wonder, or something else I couldn't name.
Liz rested a hand on my shoulder. "This is only the beginning," she said. "From here on, everything will change."
The wind howled softly through the broken sky. Somewhere far behind us, deep in the darkness, I thought I heard the distant hiss of Hunters again.
Liz looked back once, her eyes hard. "We need to move before they catch our scent."
I nodded, taking one last look at the valley of lights. The path downward waited, narrow and steep, leading toward the unknown.
As we started down, I couldn't help but look at my hand again. The faint glow was still there, pulsing with every beat.
Somehow, I knew Liz was right. Everything was about to change.
And in the valley below, the other Unbounds were waiting.