The heartbeat grew louder with every step they took deeper into Caelthorn. It pulsed through the ground, steady and patient, like the city itself was waiting.
Liora gripped the medallion tight in her hand as she led the way. The streets narrowed, choked by fallen stone and twisted beams, until they found the mouth of an old stairwell spiraling down into darkness. The air there was colder, sharp with the stench of rot and damp earth.
Kael peered into the gloom. "Lovely. Nothing says welcome home like a crypt."
"Not a crypt," Liora murmured. Her voice was tight, almost reverent. "The Sanctum. The order kept their dead here… and their secrets."
Kael arched a brow. "Secrets always smell this foul?"
Before she could answer, the heartbeat thudded again — and with it came the sound of stone shifting. The stairwell walls trembled, dust raining down.
From the shadows below, shapes began to emerge. Armored figures dragging broken blades, their steps in rhythm with the heartbeat. Their eyes glowed faintly, but not with fire like the revenant before — instead, they shimmered with pale blue light.
There were dozens.
Kael's smirk faltered. "Well. That's… excessive."
Liora lifted her blade, the medallion still clutched in her other hand. The crest burned cold against her skin, as if recognizing its fallen kin.
"Stay close," she said.
The revenants raised their heads in unison, the blue light flaring as one. Then, as if obeying the heartbeat itself, they began to climb the stairs toward them.
Chapter Five Ends