Chapter 36 — Chains from the Rift

The sky cracked wider with each heartbeat.

Kael forced himself to stand, teeth gritted as the weight of the ninth toll’s resonance pressed against his chest. His sword felt heavier than iron, but he lifted it anyway, refusing to bow.

From the rift, the creature unfurled itself—an abomination of chains and flesh, eyes stitched into its limbs, claws scraping against the air like tearing steel. Its movements were wrong, stuttering and bending as though reality couldn’t contain it.

The girl with silver eyes watched calmly, her hand resting on the rope of the bell. “Do you feel it, Kael? That weight pressing down on you? That is the truth of this world. Everything you thought was broken… is only the beginning.”

Kael’s voice rasped out, low and cold.
“I don’t care what lies beyond that rift. If it wants to consume this world… it’ll have to go through me.”

He carved his blade upward, igniting the runes carved into its edge. The steel shimmered with black flame—the Erosion responding to his rage.

The creature’s chains lashed downward, smashing through stone and wood. The tower shook violently, chunks of masonry raining into the streets below.

Kael lunged, meeting the first chain with a slash. The impact rattled his bones, sparks and fragments of shadow bursting from the collision.

The girl didn’t move. She simply smiled.
“Fight it if you want. But every toll of the bell breaks another seal. You’re already too late.”

The tenth toll began to stir.

Kael’s eyes widened.
If the ninth could shatter the sky, what would the tenth bring?

He gritted his teeth, bracing himself as the creature’s second strike came, faster than the first. His blade screamed as it caught the blow, but Kael forced his feet into the stone, refusing to yield.

For the first time since his return, fear slid into his chest.

Because he realized—this battle wasn’t about defeating the creature.
It was about surviving long enough to stop the bell.