Chapter 52 — The Rift's Call
The largest rift dominated the northern horizon like a scar torn across the fabric of reality itself.
It stretched hundreds of feet into the sky — a jagged, vertical wound pulsing with unstable violet-black energy. Swirling mists leaked from its depths, carrying faint, incomprehensible whispers that clawed at the edges of the mind. The ground around it was twisted and barren, cracked obsidian fused with strange crystalline formations that glowed with residual power from both abyssal and celestial sources.
Cairis had insisted on a small, elite expedition. Twenty of their most trusted warriors rode with them — hardened shadow assassins, loyal warlords, and rift scouts who knew the terrain. Liora rode beside Cairis on a manifested shadow steed, the soul bond a constant, steady warmth between them amid the growing unease.
