Liora woke to pain.
Not ordinary pain.
This was deeper — sharp and crushing, burning through every nerve in her body like molten iron beneath her skin.
For several long seconds, she couldn't breathe properly.
Darkness surrounded her. Cold stone pressed against her back. Somewhere nearby, water dripped steadily in slow, echoing rhythms that made the cavern feel endless.
Then the agony in her legs returned fully.
Liora gasped softly and curled instinctively, only for chains to yank painfully against her wrists and ankles.
The sound of metal echoed through the darkness.
Her eyes finally adjusted.
Green light flickered across jagged cavern walls.
Rift crystals.
Dozens of them.
Their sickly glow illuminated a massive underground chamber carved deep beneath the mountains. Ancient runes pulsed faintly along the walls, corrupted by abyssal energy. The air smelled of sulfur, blood, and something far worse — unstable Rift essence.
Liora tried to move again.
