Run.
The word hit like a blade.
And for once—
Adrian didn't argue.
They moved.
Instantly.
The arena exploded into motion as the crack behind them widened with a sound like splitting reality.
Stone trembled.
Shadows poured through the fracture like smoke given hunger.
Kai grabbed Adrian's arm and shoved him toward the eastern corridor.
"Move!"
They ran.
Footsteps thundered through the halls.
Behind them—
Something followed.
Not chasing with footsteps.
Gliding.
Closing.
Adrian could feel it.
The mark on his wrist burned hot enough to hurt.
Pulse after pulse.
Like a warning siren under skin.
"What is that thing doing here?!" Kai shouted.
Veyr ran ahead, voice sharp.
"It shouldn't be able to manifest this far!"
"That is not an answer!"
"No," Veyr snapped, "it's a problem."
Very helpful, Adrian thought wildly.
They turned a corner—
And the shadows in front of them moved.
Blocking the passage.
Adrian skidded.
"Kai!"
Kai reacted instantly.
Power flashed from his hand—
A burst of force tore through the shadow barrier.
The path opened.
They pushed through.
But Adrian felt it—
That cold awareness.
Closer.
Learning.
Enjoying this.
That made his skin crawl.
Another corridor.
Another turn.
Then—
The mark flared.
Pain shot through Adrian's arm.
He stumbled hard.
Kai caught him before he hit the wall.
"Adrian!"
"I'm fine."
Lie.
His vision blurred.
For a second—
He saw black pillars again.
The Threshold.
Closer than ever.
Then reality snapped back.
Veyr stopped suddenly ahead.
Too suddenly.
Adrian nearly crashed into him.
"What now?"
Veyr stared at the chamber before them.
No—
At what stood inside it.
A circular platform.
Ancient symbols glowing dimly across the floor.
Adrian frowned.
"…What is this?"
Veyr answered without turning.
"A transit seal."
Kai blinked.
"A what?"
"A gate."
Adrian's heart dropped.
"No."
Veyr finally looked back.
"Yes."
Adrian understood immediately.
And hated it.
"You're not serious."
Behind them—
The corridor darkened.
The Keeper was coming.
Veyr's voice turned hard.
"We can't outrun it."
Kai realized too.
And looked horrified.
"You want to send him to the Threshold."
"Temporarily," Veyr said.
Adrian stared.
"Temporarily?"
Veyr actually had the nerve to nod.
Adrian laughed in disbelief.
"This is your emergency plan?"
The shadows surged at the entrance.
Closer.
Veyr stepped onto the seal.
Symbols ignited.
Blue-black light spread.
"There is no time."
Kai looked torn apart.
"This could kill him."
Veyr answered quietly—
"If the Keeper takes him here, he dies anyway."
Silence.
Adrian hated when logic did this.
The shadows crawled into the chamber.
The temperature plunged.
And from the corridor—
The Keeper emerged.
Not as a projection.
Not incomplete.
Whole.
Tall and terrible.
Darkness shaped into will.
Its faceless head tilted toward Adrian.
Recognition.
The mark blazed.
The Keeper lifted one hand.
And the room bent.
Stone cracked.
Kai stepped in front of Adrian instinctively.
Power gathering.
But even he knew—
It wouldn't be enough.
Veyr shouted—
"Choose!"
Adrian looked at the gate.
Then the Keeper.
Then Kai.
Then back.
His jaw clenched.
"…I hate all of this."
Kai almost laughed from panic.
The Keeper moved.
Fast.
Far too fast.
Adrian made his choice.
He ran for the seal.
Kai cursed and followed.
Veyr slammed his palm down.
The platform erupted in light.
The Keeper lunged—
A hand of shadow reaching—
Almost touching Adrian—
Then—
Everything tore apart.
Light swallowed the chamber.
Sound vanished.
Weight vanished.
Falling.
Adrian couldn't breathe.
Couldn't think.
Only fall.
Through darkness.
Through echoes.
Through something alive.
Then—
Impact.
Hard stone.
Silence.
Adrian gasped and pushed himself up.
Cold air.
Endless dark.
Black pillars.
Rows upon rows.
His blood ran cold.
No.
No no no—
He knew this place.
The vision.
The gate.
The impossible horizon.
He was here.
The Threshold.
Adrian slowly stood.
"…You have got to be kidding me."
A voice behind him answered—
"No."
Adrian spun.
And froze.
Someone stood between the pillars.
A man.
Older than him.
Dark coat.
Silver-threaded hair.
Eyes that looked hauntingly familiar.
Watching him.
Waiting.
The stranger spoke softly.
"I wondered when another bearer would arrive."
Adrian's breath caught.
Because somehow—
He recognized him.
Not from memory.
From the bond.
The man tilted his head.
And smiled faintly.
"Tell me…"
A pause.
"…Is my brother still alive?"
Adrian's heart stopped.
Veyr's brother.