The Midnight Key

The walls split open.

The silver glow flared too bright, blinding for a moment before—

The world shifted.

One moment, Rene was standing in the underground chamber. The next—

She was somewhere else.

The air was thick with fog, swirling in unnatural currents. The sky above them was a deep, endless black, streaked with veins of silver light.

The ruins were gone.

The throne was gone.

Selene was gone.

Rene turned sharply, trying to find the others—

Lucien was there, sword still raised. Nyra, Adrian, and Adriel stood close, their eyes scanning the strange landscape.

Kieran whistled under his breath. "Alright. That's new."

Then—

A whisper.

Low. Soft. But this time, it was everywhere.

Rene's breath caught.

She knew this place.

She had never seen it before, never set foot here—

But she knew it.

Rena exhaled softly in her arms. "This is where I was."

Rene's chest tightened. "Where?"

Rena blinked, her silver eyes reflecting the strange sky.

"The place I was banished to."

Lucien's expression darkened. "This… isn't our world."

Selene's voice suddenly cut through the fog, distant but clear.

"Welcome to the world that should not exist."

And then—

The whispers became screams.

To Be Continued…