Page 116 of Night Fae

Leon had already rushed forward and now knelt beside Yuri's bleeding form, frantically trying to stem the flow of blood from a wound in the Barrier Keeper's chest.

"Too late," Ashelon observed coolly as the others approached. "The keeper's life is measured in minutes now."

"What happened here?" Caelen demanded, his voice echoing through the chamber. "What are you doing in my territory?"

Ashelon's silver pupils flashed. "What you could not, Shadow King. I've prevented catastrophe."

"By murdering the last Barrier Keeper?" Knox challenged.

"By stopping a madman from destroying reality itself." Ashelon gestured carelessly toward Yuri. "He was attempting to awaken something that should remain dormant."

On the floor, Yuri's eyes fluttered open, focusing on Leon with startling clarity despite his failing body. His bloodied hand reached up, grasping Leon's wrist.

"You understand now, don't you?" Yuri whispered. "Why it must be done?"

Leon shook his head. "Not like this. There has to be another way."

Yuri's grip tightened. "Finish what we started..."

With those words, silver energy began flowing from Yuri's body into Leon's, a visible transfer of power that made the air around them crackle. Leon gasped, his back arching as the energy filled him.

"Stop him!" Lord Darius commanded, but it was too late.

Yuri's body went still, his purpose fulfilled even in death. Leon stood slowly, his eyes now glowing with the same silver light that had filled Yuri's.

"I understand now," Leon said, his voice resonating strangely through the chamber. "All of it."

The temple floor began to activate, ancient symbols lighting up in sequence as energy surged through patterns carved into the stone. The entire structure trembled.

"It's waking up," Leon warned, a hint of awe and terror in his voice. "The ancient deity that exists between all worlds."

As he spoke, reality fractured around them. The temple walls seemed to dissolve in places, revealing glimpses into other dimensions—a modern city inhabited by people with dragon wings, a primordial forest, a town on a floating island. Each vision flickered for mere seconds before being replaced by another.

"What is happening?" Malik demanded, edging closer to Zev.

Leon turned to face them all, his expression caught between wonder and horror. "The barriers weren't created to separate our worlds," he explained. "They were created to divide IT."

CHAPTER 25

"Divide what?" Adrian asked.

"A consciousness too vast for any single reality," Leon continued. "The shadow paths are its chains, spread across different worlds. And now, thanks to the weakening barriers, it's reforming."

Lord Darius stepped forward, his cold eyes fixed on Leon. "Then we must strengthen those barriers immediately."

"Yes," Lady Morvena agreed, her calculating gaze sweeping across the group. "And we already have the means to do so." Her eyes lingered on the four humans—Leon, Adrian, Daniel, and Malik. "Four humans with Barrier Keeper ancestry. Four points to anchor a binding ritual."

Zev stiffened. He was always wary of whatever that woman wanted, and even more so where Malik was involved. "What are you talking about?"

Caelen stepped forward as well, ice crystals forming at his fingertips. "Explain yourselves."

Lady Morvena smiled, the expression never reaching her eyes. "These four carry the blood of the original Barrier Keepers in their veins, diluted through generations but still potent."

"That's why the shadow paths react so strongly to them," Lord Darius added. "Why they can manipulate the paths in ways others cannot."

Leon nodded slowly, the silver glow in his eyes pulsing. "He's right. Yuri knew this all along. It's why he orchestrated our meetings with Veridians. To weaken the barriers." His expression shifted to one of determination. "But we can use that same connection to repair them."

The temple shuddered again. A section of wall vanished completely, revealing a vast starless void beyond.