Chapter 256: 256. The Sunless Realm

Colby

After those strange warnings, things got weirder. Gemma and Rowan came to us, saying they were being summoned to this Sunless Realm in their dreams. Not asked. Summoned. Like something was pulling them in, slowly and relentlessly. They said if they didn’t go, it would come to them. And if that happened, it could destroy the city.

Then Lia had a vision.

That sealed it.

There was no debate after that, at least not in her mind. I could see it the second she came back from whatever nightmare she’d seen. Her eyes were distant, but not confused. Focused. Determined. That was somehow worse.

I didn’t want to go to something called the Sunless Realm. The name alone made my stomach twist. We’d already been to one warped dimension before, when the twins had to unlock their full power. That place nearly broke us. The memories still clung to the edges of my sleep. And now it was starting all over again.

I kept thinking the Spiritborn had to be guiding us toward this, preparing us in their cryptic, frustrating way. But that didn’t make it easier to accept. This place didn’t have a sun. That wasn’t symbolic. It was literal. A realm with no light, no warmth, no balance. I couldn’t imagine it. I didn’t want to. It felt wrong in my bones.

But Lia had already decided we were going.

I shook my head, stunned, as she laid it all out like it was already done. Like our choice had never mattered. Her certainty scared me more than the vision did. She talked about balance, inevitability, how the vision wasn’t a warning but a calling.

I didn’t care what it was.

I wanted to protect her. I wanted to protect all of them. Walking into something called the Sunless Realm felt like doing the exact opposite.

But deep down, I knew the truth. The moment that place touched our dreams, the choice had been made.

“No.”

“That’s not an answer, Colby,” Lia said sharply. “We’re doing this.”

I folded my arms. “You mean you’re doing this. I haven’t agreed to a damn thing.”

“You will.” Her voice was maddeningly calm. “You just haven’t caught up yet.”

“You don’t drag people into the Sunless Realm because you think it’s the right thing to do.”

“I’m not dragging anyone,” she snapped. “I’m asking. Telling, if I have to. Because if we don’t go, they win.”

“They already think they’ve won, Lia. Going there just gives them the victory for real.”

I wanted to stay here. Keep the twins safe. Delay the inevitable a little longer. But Solen was coming either way. We all knew it.

She stepped forward, her eyes hard. “Do you really think we can end this from here? From the sidelines? Waiting for the next attack? Waiting for someone else to almost die?”

“That’s not fair.”

“No,” she said quietly. “It’s the truth.”

I clenched my jaw. “You want to throw yourself into the dark for what? Closure? Revenge?”

“No. To stop the cycle. To keep you all safe.”

“You keep saying that like you’re not part of you all.” My voice rose. “You’re not expendable, Lia.”

“I’m not. And neither are you. That’s why I’m going in. Because I can handle it.”

“Bullshit. No one handles the Sunless Realm.”

She rolled her eyes. “Colby.”

“No, you listen now,” I growled. “You’re talking about walking into a place that we don’t know about. What if something happens?”

“I am different.”

I stared at her. “How?”

“Because I’m not going in blind. I’ve trained. We’ve all trained. We have information. Allies.”

“Not enough.”

“Never enough,” she said bitterly. “But that hasn’t stopped us before.”

I looked at her then. Really looked. She was scared. Angry. But underneath it all, she was steady. Certain. That scared me more than anything else.

I stepped closer, lowering my voice. “You’re not going alone.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I do.” I grabbed her hand, holding it tight. “If you walk into that place without me, I’ll follow anyway. So you either let me come with you, or you’ll just have to deal with me crashing your noble little sacrifice.”

Her shoulders softened, just slightly.

“You always were stubborn.”

“You always were reckless.”

A tiny smile flickered on her lips. “So we’re both going.”

I sighed. “Yeah. And if we die, I’m haunting you forever.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

A floorboard creaked behind us.

Rain’s voice: “Okay, wow. That was a lot. Are we voting on who walks into the hell dimension, or is this more of a volunteer-your-soul kind of deal?”

Lia didn’t turn. “Stay out of it, Rain.”

“No offense,” he said, walking up beside us, “but when two of my friends start arguing about noble death quests, I feel mildly obligated to weigh in.”

I glanced back at him. “You’re not going.”

“Didn’t say I was,” Rain replied. “But I’m also not going to stay here knitting while you two charge into a realm called Sunless. You don’t call something that unless it eats people.”

Matt joined us, arms crossed. “We go in together, or not at all.”

“Matt,” Lia started.

“No. You don’t get to solo this.” His voice was firm. “We trained for a reason. If we split now, we fall apart.”

Rain raised a hand. “I’ve watched a lot of horror movies, and I know who dies first. Hint. It’s the guy who stays behind.”

I shook my head, frustration rising. “This isn’t a movie. If you go, you might not come back.”

Rain looked between us, more serious than I’d seen him in weeks. “That’s true. But if I don’t go, and something happens to you, I’ll never forgive myself. So either way, I’m screwed.”

I looked at them all. At Matt. At Rain. At Lia.

Maybe we were already screwed. But at least we’d face it together.

Jesse cleared his throat. “I’m going too.”

I snorted. “There was never any doubt you were going, Jesse.”

He shrugged, all calm like he wasn’t volunteering for a nightmare. “Didn’t want to get left out of the official declaration. Seems like we’re collecting trauma bonds now.”

Rain gestured between all of us. “Okay, so just to recap. We’ve got the full team walking into the most cursed realm imaginable, knowing full well we might not come back, with a plan that consists of ‘we’ll figure it out when we get there.’ Awesome.”

Lia raised her hand. “We have a little more of a plan than that.”

“Do we?” I asked. “Because right now, I’ve heard a lot of destiny talk and very little logistics.”

“We have to let the twins lead us,” Lia explained.

She was talking about our three-year-old twins, but to be fair, they weren’t your average toddlers.