Apologies for yet another delay! Chapter 51 will be published tomorrow evening!
Brief Preview:
Chapter 51
The medallion in Hoku's hand disintegrated into glowing shards that ascended and vanished like parchment that'd been consumed by flames.
Within seconds his palm was empty, and a faint static tingled on his skin where the fragments had been.
He stared at his palm in disbelief.
It was clearly gone, yet his mind could not reconcile itself with what his eyes beheld.
Hoku felt a sudden pang in his chest swell into a bitter mixture of emotions he could not name.
After a moment, his legs abruptly stiffened and his fingers twitched.
The tips of his fingers darkened to red and bluish veins swelled at his knuckles.
Before matters could progress further, the low groans around him subsided and were replaced by the coarse, dragging sound of aged wood, as though a long-sealed door were being wrenched open beyond his sight.
An acrid mix of charred resin and rust hung in the air.
Hoku scrunched his nose against the faint trace of dry, moldy leather, while fragments of debris swirled about him.
On either side, Mars and Li wore grim expressions.
In such a moment, one might have chosen to avoid the peril so clearly set before them, yet there was an unspoken understanding that to linger would lead to the same end, and any alternate path would merely delay their meeting with it.
As Hoku inwardly anchored himself to this thought, he glanced over to check on Abel and Fleur, who had fallen silent for quite some time.
When he moved around the statue, however, a sudden whoosh struck him backwards.
Darkness seeped from the corners of his vision, and for a fleeting instant, it felt as though he were being drawn into its stomach.
At once, the pressure around him changed, like the ground itself had grown denser beneath his feet.
. . .
Full content will be published tomorrow, October 13th