Page 143 of The Ascended
Thatcher was beside me, his face a mask of concern and something darker. Something I'd seen only once before, when Drakor had threatened him in the Proving.
"What did you do?" I whispered.
"They were killing you," he said simply, his voice hollow. "I couldn't let them."
Before I could respond, the chamber shuddered violently. Cracks appeared in the walls, spreading like lightning across the stone. Pieces of ceiling began to fall, crashing into the platform and sending shock waves through the water.
"The Archive is collapsing," Thatcher said urgently.
"My tunnel," I realized, looking toward the opening that had formed when I'd placed my keys. To my relief, it remained intact, the pathway still glowing with silvery light. "It's still open!"
"I need to use my keys," Thatcher said, already moving back to the platform.
I followed, fighting against the increasing turbulence as the Archive continued to shake itself apart. The chamber shuddered violently, chunks of ceiling crashing down around us.
Thatcher reached the platform first, quickly placing his three keys into their respective slots. For a moment, nothing happened, and panic clawed at my chest. Then the keys began to glow, their light intensifying until it was almost blinding.
A second opening appeared in the wall beside mine—his escape route forming just as the others had.
"Let's go!" I shouted over the growing roar of destruction, grabbing his arm and pulling him toward our escape routes.
We swam into our separate tunnels, racing against the destruction that pursued us. The passages ran parallel at first, close enough that I could see Thatcher through the crystalline barrier. Each tunnel twisted upward, occasionally branching in multiple directions.
The water pressure decreased as we ascended, but the danger only seemed to increase, the passages narrowing and debris beginning to fall more frequently.
Almost there,he sent through the bond, pointing to a patch of brighter water ahead where our paths appeared to converge.
A final violent tremor shook the tunnel. The structure around us groaned, stone grinding against stone. Then, with a sound like thunder, the ceiling gave way completely. Thatcher grabbed me, pulling me forward with desperate strength as tons of ancient masonry crashed down behind us.
We burst into open water just as the tunnel collapsed entirely, the force of the destruction propelling us upward. Above us, the surface shimmered with sunlight, tantalizingly close.
What happens when we get up there?I sent through our bond, the question encompassing all that had occurred below.
Thatcher's response carried a grim certainty.We’re fucked.
No matter what, we’re in this together,I promised, though fear churned in my stomach.
Because I knew. We weren’t getting out of this.
Chapter 33
The King of Gods
The shocking transitionfrom liquid to air burned my lungs, a violent reminder that we had survived—for now. Before I could even take a proper breath, hands seized my arms, yanking me toward the shore.
I didn't resist. What would be the point?
Guards dragged us through the shallows. Their faces were expressionless masks, but their grips carried threat. Through our bond, I could feel Thatcher's rage building like a storm, his muscles tensing beneath their hold.
Don't, I warned silently.
My gaze swept across the beach where other contestants stood watching our approach. Some wore expressions of confusion, others thinly veiled satisfaction. Marx and Kyren stood together near the tree line, their faces tight with concern. Marx mouthed something I couldn't make out, shaking her head slightly.
At the center of the gathering, Thalor and Sylphia stood in deep discussion, their divine forms shimmering at the edges. Even from a distance, their anger was palpable—a pressure in the air that made my skin prickle and myheart race.
"They have fundamentally violated the sacred purpose of this trial!" Sylphia's voice carried across the water, sharp as a blade, her ethereal form rippling with indignation. "The Archive has stood for millennia, and in a single act of defiance, they've destroyed it."
"We cannot allow such a precedent to stand," Thalor responded, the water around his feet churning.
