Cain stood on the edge of immense danger, yet retreat was not a possibility for him. He had reached too far, uncovered too much. Turning back now would be a betrayal of everything he—and countless others—fought to protect.
Pulling deeper into the ninth layer might well spell his doom, but if something existed below the King of the Root—something even more dreadful—he needed to know what it was. Without that knowledge, they would have no chance of resisting the Root's advance.
Tempering his will, Cain sank below the fleshy surface and began moving through the undulating layers of rotted tissue. Each second was a battle of precision, carving a silent path toward the ninth layer. It was extraordinarily dangerous.
