They rode out at first light, the hills falling away behind them as fast as the horses could manage without breaking.
The deep pulse stayed with them the whole way—quieter on the surface now, but steady, like a second heartbeat thumping somewhere under the dirt. By midday the land itself started showing the damage.
Sinkholes had opened overnight in three spots along their path. One still blew cold air and that same metallic musk they had smelled in the vault. Another had half-swallowed an old stone marker, cracking it open so the angular pre-empire script underneath caught the light.
Selene swung down and crouched by the broken stone. She traced the newly exposed lines with one gloved finger. "It's not just that one vault. The whole network felt the crystal leave its pedestal. Other locks are going soft."
