🩸 Chapter Thirteen: The Cost of Command and the Echoes of Sacrifice..Â
​I hauled Elias to his feet, my entire body screaming from the feedback of the massive magical strike. The silence of the mine was oppressive, but the air no longer felt inert; it hummed with spent energy, like the static after lightning.
​"We move," I rasped, pulling him toward the twisting path back to the alcove. "Fast. If the seismic shock damaged their Phase-Walking, they'll be retreating or disoriented. But if their leader survived, they'll know exactly what we did and who we are."
​The return journey was a blur of aching muscles and blinding urgency. Elias, despite his terror, proved fiercely resilient, using his slight weight to help me scramble over debris. He was no longer just the Vessel; he was a terrified accomplice, forged in the terror of the Silver Vein's ignition.
