The dust settled—
Slow.
Heavy.
Unwilling to leave.
Feroz remained on his knees, breathing unevenly, his arm still burning from what it had shown him.
The older version of himself was gone.
But the memory remained.
Clear.
Sharp.
Real.
Yusuf stood a few steps away, watching him carefully.
"You did not break."
Feroz didn't respond immediately. His eyes stayed fixed on the cracked ground where the energy had formed.
"I felt it," he said quietly. "That version of me… he wasn't weak."
Yusuf's expression darkened.
"No," he replied. "He was empty."
Feroz's hand tightened into a fist.
"That's worse."
A deep groan echoed through the hall.
Cracks spread further along the ceiling. Stone shifted. Dust fell again.
The structure was failing.
"We need to leave," Yusuf said, his tone turning sharp. "This place won't hold much longer."
Feroz pushed himself up. His legs trembled, but he stayed upright.
They moved toward the tunnel.
Each step echoed in the collapsing silence.
Behind them, the broken stone tree pulsed faintly—weak, unstable… but not dead.
Not finished.
As they reached the tunnel entrance, Feroz stopped.
Yusuf noticed immediately.
"What is it?"
Feroz didn't turn.
"He said I'm the key."
A pause.
"What does that open?"
Yusuf hesitated—but this time, he didn't hide it.
"Something the Free Masons have been preparing for… for decades."
Feroz turned slowly, his expression steady now.
"And my father?"
Yusuf glanced back at the ruins.
"He tried to stop it. That's why they didn't kill him."
Feroz's jaw tightened.
"…he's alive."
"Yes."
The word carried weight—hope and danger in equal measure.
Feroz nodded once.
Slow.
Certain.
"Then this isn't about survival anymore."
His gaze dropped to the mark on his arm, faint but still present.
"I'm finishing what he started."
Yusuf studied him closely.
No hesitation.
No fear controlling him now.
Only direction.
Only purpose.
They stepped out of the tunnel.
Cold air hit Feroz's face.
Sharp.
Real.
It was night.
Not dawn.
Hours had passed without them noticing.
The forest stood silent.
Too silent.
Yusuf stopped abruptly.
Feroz felt it too.
"What is it?"
Yusuf didn't answer. He was listening.
Then—
A sound.
A branch snapping.
Behind them.
Feroz turned instantly.
Three figures stood between the trees.
Still.
Watching.
Their eyes glowed faint blue.
Hunters.
But different.
Stronger.
Sharper.
Closer to control than chaos.
One stepped forward.
"You were not meant to survive the hall."
No anger.
No urgency.
Just certainty.
Feroz's heart raced—but he didn't step back.
Yusuf shifted slightly in front of him.
"They came sooner than expected," he murmured.
The lead Hunter tilted its head.
"The waiting is over."
A pause.
"The Free Masons no longer observe."
Its gaze locked onto Feroz.
"You will come with us."
Feroz's arm responded instantly.
The mark began to glow again.
This time—
He didn't resist it.
Didn't suppress it.
Didn't fear it.
"I'm done running."
His voice was low.
But steady.
Certain.
The air around him shifted.
Subtle—but real.
The forest felt it.
The Hunters reacted.
Instantly.
They moved.
Fast.
Precise.
No hesitation.
And this time—
Neither did Feroz.
He stepped forward—
Into the fight.