The ground didn't just tremble.
It groaned.
A deep, violent sound tore through the battlefield, like something ancient was forcing its way through layers of earth that had kept it imprisoned for far too long.
Emily felt it before anyone else.
Her body stiffened.
Her breath caught.
The energy inside her—dark gold, unstable, alive—reacted instantly, pulsing beneath her skin like a second heartbeat.
"…this isn't over," she said quietly.
Alexander turned to her at once, his sharp instincts already on high alert.
"What do you feel?"
Emily didn't answer immediately.
Her gaze had drifted past him, toward the fractured battlefield stretching into the distance. The broken earth, the glowing cracks, the remnants of the earlier fight—they all seemed insignificant now.
Something else was coming.
"…it's not them," she said finally.
Daniel blinked, clearly confused.
"Not them?" he repeated. "You mean the creepy shadow creatures trying to kill us aren't the main problem anymore?"
