2024-08-08 22:59:44
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Chapter 437
"Yes," Caster said. He looked at his own hands. He felt the cold gray ash of his own soul-tether inside him. "The Warden is pruning its own roots.""Pruning?""A gardener cuts the branches of a tree so it grows the way he wants," Caster said. "The Warden is erasing the evidence of the crime. It is burning every book, every scroll, and every map that talks about the Blackthorn Network. It is burning the instructions for binding souls. It is making sure that no one in the Tower will ever know how to build a Pact Seal again."Lysane felt a deep, terrible chill that had nothing to do with the freezing spectral fire.The Warden was not just a mindless beast throwing a tantrum. It was a highly intelligent, patient force of nature. It was cleaning up the mess. It was deleting the instruction manual so humanity could never repeat the sin."This is not chaos," Lysane said softly. "This is a correction.""Yes," Caster said.Then, a sudden, horrible thought hit Lysane like a physical punch to th
Chapter 436
Lysane ran past rows of thick, ancient books. The pale fire was dancing along the wooden shelves. But the wood was not turning black. The wood was not turning to ash.The fire was completely ignoring the physical wood.Lysane stopped in front of a shelf. The pale fire surrounded a large book with a red leather cover.She watched, completely hypnotized, as the book slowly lifted into the air.It did not have wings. No wind was blowing. The book just floated upward, opening its heavy covers like a bird opening its wings.The pale fire licked the pages.Lysane stepped closer. She could see the black ink on the old yellow paper. It was a book about ancient weather spells.As the pale fire touched the paper, the paper did not burn. The paper stayed perfectly smooth and whole.But the ink moved.The black letters on the page began to shake. They peeled off the flat paper. The letters turned into tiny, floating black flakes, like dead insects. They drifted up into the freezing air. As soon a
Chapter 435
The giant ash helix spun outside the glass windows. It was massive. It wrapped around the entire Sage Tower like two giant, pale snakes.Caster Spellbound and Archmage Lysane stood on the stone balcony. They felt the heavy, terrible vibration in their bones. The whole city was trapped under the pitch-black dome. The artificial sun was dead. The only light came from the sick, pale glow of the spinning ash."The Warden is awake," Caster said softly. His rough voice barely cut through the loud, humming sound of the storm outside. "It is taking control of the city’s magic."Lysane stared at the dark streets far below. Millions of people were trapped down there in the dark. She thought about the children, the bakers, the guards. They were completely blind to the truth."We have to stop looking at the sky," Lysane said quickly. She turned away from the balcony. Her dark eyes were full of a fierce, desperate fire. "If we stand here, we die with them. We need the book, Caster. We need Foundat
Chapter 434
Lysane looked at his right hand. The gray rune that he had absorbed from the stone pillar was glowing wildly. It was pulsing with a bright, angry light."What is happening?" Lysane demanded."Gravity," Caster gasped. He looked up at her, his eyes full of pure terror. "Gravity is shifting inside my chest. The Tower... what did the Council just do?"Lysane closed her eyes. She felt the magical vibrations in the stone walls. She read the energy of the city."Vane activated the Aegis Ward," Lysane said, her voice dropping to a horrified whisper. "He put the maximum shield over the capital.""No," Caster groaned. He forced himself to stand up. He leaned heavily against the stone wall. "The fool. The absolute, arrogant fool.""The people will think they are safe," Lysane said. "But we saw the blueprints. The wards do not push the dark magic away.""They sustain it," Caster said, his breathing ragged. "They feed it. The Aegis Ward is a Blackthorn Recursion loop. It is a giant sponge."High a
Chapter 433
All across the Second Ring, the protective charms were breaking. The blue magic lanterns on the street corners were dying, turning to dark gray glass. The fires in the bakeries and the blacksmith shops refused to ignite.People rushed out of their houses. They looked at their broken charms. They looked at the silent, endless gray ash falling from the perfectly blue sky."It's the sickness!" a man yelled in the middle of the street. He was a merchant who traveled to the lower Rings. He had seen this before. "It's the Ashfall! It's Ashfall Syndrome!"The words spread like a terrible disease.Ashfall Syndrome.It was a whisper at first. Then it became a shout. Then it became a panicked, terrified scream echoing across the entire capital.‘Ashfall Syndrome! The dark sickness! It eats your memories! It turns your lungs to glass!’"Run!" people screamed. "Get to the safe zones! Call the High Guards!"Total chaos exploded. The peaceful morning was destroyed.Thousands of people began to run
Chapter 432
The morning began like any other perfect morning in the capital city.In the Second Ring, the sky was a beautiful, clear blue. There were no clouds. The artificial sun of the Tower shone brightly, warming the clean white stone streets. Birds sang in the floating green gardens.Toma, an old baker with kind eyes and thick hands, opened the wooden doors of his shop. The smell of sweet bread and warm honey filled the air. His young granddaughter, Elin, ran out onto the street. She laughed and chased a floating blue magic bubble left behind by the street cleaners.People walked out of their homes. They wore bright, happy colors. Merchants pushed their carts. High Guards in shiny gold armor walked slowly, smiling at the children.It was a world that felt completely safe. It was a world that believed in the absolute power of the Tower Council.Then, the sky changed.It did not turn dark. There were no black storm clouds. There was no loud thunder. The sky stayed perfectly, beautifully blue.
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