Chapter 80 — The Breaking
The peace shattered without warning on the eve of the Harvest Moon.
For weeks, the kingdom had clung to its fragile recovery. Markets buzzed with cautious optimism. Hybrid academies filled with eager students. Festivals continued in smaller, quieter forms. Liora and Cairis had allowed themselves to believe — if only for a little while — that they had earned a reprieve.
They were wrong.
It began with tremors. Not the violent quakes of Korthrax's previous awakenings, but something subtler — a low, persistent vibration that rattled windows and made the ground feel alive beneath their feet. Then the reports came flooding in.
The largest rift was expanding again. Faster than before. Smarter.
