The western road unfolded under a clear sky and a steady wind.
Sekai kept the party moving at a pace no normal group of riders could have matched. Short pauses cleared fallen trees, washed-out sections of road, and one group of opportunistic bandits who had thought the trade routes would be empty. Each time the world locked into place he worked quickly, then released time before the others could do more than notice a brief strange stillness in the air.
By the end of the first day they had covered the distance of nearly two normal days of travel. The horses were tired but still strong. The League riders in the escort had stopped asking questions about the unusual speed. They simply followed and kept their thoughts to themselves.
Niña rode with her cloak pulled tight against the evening chill. "I am starting to forget what it feels like to stay in one city for more than a night."
Leafa answered without looking back. "We stay when the darkness stays. Until then we move."
Fury kept her eyes on the western horizon. "Port Meridian sits on a natural harbor. If the darkness takes the docks, the grain ships stop. The capital will feel that loss quickly."
Sekai checked the timer out of habit. Two days and four hours remained. They would reach the coast by the following afternoon if nothing forced a longer delay.
That night they camped in the lee of a low ridge. No fire again. Watches rotated. Sekai used his turn to pause the world for a longer stretch and simply sit in the silence, letting the strain of the constant travel ease from his shoulders. The controller rested in his open hand. Three days still felt like a workable margin, but the pattern was clear. Every time the timer reset, a new front opened somewhere else. The King of Darkness was pacing him on purpose.
They rode out again before dawn.
By midday the air began to change. A faint salt smell reached them on the wind. Seabirds appeared in greater numbers. Then the black clouds came into view, low and motionless over the western horizon exactly as they had been over the capital and Highmere.
Port Meridian appeared in the late afternoon.
The city was larger than Highmere and built for trade rather than war. Wide stone docks stretched into a deep natural harbor. Warehouses lined the waterfront. The outer walls were strong but not as thick as those of the capital. Beyond those walls the Realm of Darkness had already claimed a wide crescent of land along the northern approach. Several outlying villages sat half swallowed by the same still black fog. No smoke rose from their chimneys.
The main gates stood open. A squad of city guards met them with a mixture of relief and urgency. Their captain, a lean man with a salt-stained cloak, wasted no time on ceremony.
"Hero of Salvation," he said. "We received word you were coming. The darkness reached the northern farms three days ago. Last night it took the outer watch posts. Our mages say something under the old tidal caves is pulling it inland faster than it should move."
Fury's ears angled forward. "Tidal caves. Another old site."
The captain nodded. "The caves flood with the high tide and empty with the low. Smugglers used them for generations. The deepest sections were sealed after the last war. We thought they were empty."
Sekai looked toward the black fog creeping closer to the northern wall. "They are not empty anymore."
Leafa dismounted and checked her sword. "Then we go down before the next high tide."
The captain led them through the city at a quick pace. Civilians watched from doorways and upper windows. Many looked like they had not slept properly in days. The sound of the sea was constant here, a low rush and pull that never fully stopped.
They reached a stone stairway built into the base of the northern wall. It led down toward the tidal caves. The air grew colder and wetter with every step. Salt crusted the walls. The sound of distant water echoed up from below.
At the first major landing the captain stopped. "From here the caves belong to whatever has woken inside them. My men will hold the upper entrance. Bring back whatever news you can."
Sekai checked the timer one final time. One day and nineteen hours remained.
He closed his hand around the controller and started down the wet stone steps.
The darkness under Port Meridian was already waiting. And once again the pause button would decide how much time the city was allowed to keep.