Author's Note: Unedited Chapter
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Ria and Sersi felt the shockwave too and were blown back, but not with destructive force... more like the push of a repelling barrier.
The ritual ground lit up.
All forty-three ritual monoliths cracked at once.
Gustav's suspended body twisted slightly, his fingers twitching.
He wasn't awake.
But he was resisting.
Subconsciously.
Automatically.
Like a primordial instinct kicking in.
Nocturnis stared at him, this time with an expression that hadn't graced his face in millennia:
Hesitation.
And far away…
Falco, still fleeing the executioner, felt something.
The universe trembled.
A presence awakened.
A presence that wasn't Nocturnis.
Falco's eyes widened.
"Gustav…?"
But before he could feel relief, the executioner's shadow fell over him, ready to crush them all.
And Nocturnis, back at the ritual site, growled under his breath—
"This… changes nothing."
He raised his hand again.
More serious this time.
