As Soren and Cynthia pushed deeper into the artificial Glass, something strange began to happen.
The number of cadets chasing them started to decrease.
At first it was subtle.
The shouting behind them became more distant. Fewer footsteps crashed through the undergrowth. The bursts of soul energy that had been flying toward them gradually stopped.
Eventually—
Silence followed them.
Soren slowed slightly, glancing back through the twisted vegetation.
There were still a few pursuers in the distance, but far fewer than before.
It was as if the others had chosen to stop.
Chosen not to follow any further.
For Soren and Cynthia, this was both a good thing… and a very bad thing.
Good, because the chase had nearly ended.
Bad, because there was only one reason trained cadets—future knights of the empire—would stop pursuing prey they had nearly cornered.
Fear.
Which meant something ahead of them was worse than whatever reward they expected for killing Soren.
Soren exhaled slowly.
