Chapter 27 · The Hollow Cure - Chapter 27: Echoes from the Deep

"Get your head out of the clouds or the crystals will do it for you," Kael snapped, his hand gripping Lyra’s shoulder hard enough to bruise.

He yanked her back just as a jagged shard of blood-glass exploded from the wall, missing her ear by an inch. The sound wasn't a crash—it was a scream. A high, vibrating frequency that rattled the teeth and made the air feel like static electricity.

Lyra stumbled, her boots sliding on the slick, iridescent floor of the Lower Vault. She gasped, her hand flying to her chest where the crystallization was worst. "I can't... I can't focus. It's like someone is shouting inside my skull."

"That's the mental rot," Kael said, his voice tight. He didn't let go of her. He couldn't. In this part of the ruins, the geometry shifted if you stopped paying attention. One wrong step and you weren't just lost; you were part of the architecture. "Look at me. Lyra, look at me right now."

She turned, her eyes glazed. The noble heir was gone, replaced by a woman trembling under the weight of a psychic tide.