Melchior slammed his staff into the ground. His hands shook. He did not look at them. He saw the mark on Eiji's sleeve where the Null had bitten. The dark was not a wound that could be stitched.
"We made it," Selendra said, but she did not sound sure.
They scrambled to their feet. Vesper checked the bindings at her belt. Rhea looked at the ground for traps. Melchior kept his eyes at the seam where they had entered, as if the space behind it might cough something else up.
Eiji touched his chest. The charm felt heavier. Alma's voice was thin.
[Core integrity dropping. Energy lost through contact. I can seal some, but not all.]
"Is Kroth gone?" Eiji asked. He could not keep the fear from his voice. The word still tasted like blood.
Melchior did not meet his eyes. "Kroth left through the rift. For now, he's gone. That does not mean he is not looking."
