The eye vanished.
But the fear remained.
The ruins trembled violently as massive fractures spread across the walls and floor. Stone collapsed into endless darkness below, entire sections of the corridor folding inward like reality itself was tearing apart.
Lira grabbed Kael's arm immediately.
"We're leaving. NOW."
But Kael didn't move.
He stood completely still.
His eyes had changed.
Thin silver lines glowed faintly within them, flickering like cracks of light beneath the surface.
The cloaked figure watched him carefully.
"…So it begins."
Kael slowly looked up.
"What begins?"
The figure answered quietly.
"The collapse of destiny."
The ruin shook hard enough to split pillars apart.
Then—
Something moved beneath them.
At first, only darkness.
Then a hand emerged from the abyss below.
Gigantic.
Black.
Large enough to crush entire buildings effortlessly.
Lira's face lost all color.
"That's impossible…"
The hand kept rising slowly.
Massive chains wrapped around its wrist, every link covered in glowing ancient symbols.
Sealed.
Restrained.
Trying to break free.
Kael's chest tightened violently as memories flooded his mind—
Worlds disappearing into shadow.
Dead stars falling from the sky.
Entire civilizations kneeling before endless darkness.
And through all of it—
One truth echoed louder than the rest.
The Devourer was never destroyed.
It was imprisoned.
And somehow—
Kael was connected to it.