Chapter 79 THE EXILE ROUTE
Chapter 79 THE EXILE ROUTE
When Valeria opened her eyes, the first thing she saw wasn't darkness, but the tip of a barrel.
Kael stood over her, his rifle pressed against his sister's forehead. They were on the cold, metallic floor of Sector Zero.
"Are you going to kill me, brother?" Valeria asked, spitting out the blood in her mouth. "Or are you waiting for the King to eat me?"
"He is no longer a King," Kael said, his voice emotionless. "And you are no longer my sister. You are property of the Council."
Dorian emerged from the shadows. He made no sound as he walked. His grey eyes seemed to drain all the joy of life from Valeria.
"Serra is dying," Dorian said. His voice was cold as ice. "Tell me how to stop the poison inside her. Or I will give you to Lyra. And rest assured, she won't pull your soul as gently as I would."
Valeria trembled. She had seen what Lyra could do.
"You can't stop it," Valeria said. "It's not a poison, Dorian. It's Valerius's DNA. Serra is transforming. If the process completes, her body will turn completely black, and my father will be reborn in her body."
Dorian grabbed Valeria by the throat. His hand was freezing. "Give me a solution."
"North," Valeria rasped. "Where my mother was born. The 'Eternal Glaciers'. There are 'Silent Priests' there. They are the only ones who can seal the blood."
"Where is the map?"
"There is no map," Valeria said, gasping for air. "Only a compass." She pointed to the necklace around her neck. "This compass doesn't point north; it points to magic."
Dorian ripped the necklace off. Then he turned to Kael. "We're taking her too."
"Why?" Kael asked. "She's a burden."
"No," Dorian said, looking at Valeria. "She is a battery. If Lyra gets tired... we will use her."
(GOLIATH: THE UNDERGROUND BEAST)
Lukas had managed to start a massive machine in one of Sector Zero's deepest hangars. This wasn't an elegant train running on rails. This was the "Goliath," a caterpillar-tracked, armored excavation vehicle with massive drills on the front.
"Will this scrap heap get us North?" Serra asked, wrapped in blankets. Her face was pale, the black veins on her neck throbbing like a pulse.
"This scrap heap can bore through mountains," Lukas said, roaring the engine. "But we're low on fuel."
Dorian sat next to Serra. Lyra was in her father's lap, constantly holding his hand. If the connection broke, Dorian would fall.
"Are you cold?" Serra asked.
"I can't feel," Dorian said honestly. "There is just a void, Serra. Like I'm standing alone on a windy plain."
Serra placed her hand on Dorian's grey cheek. "I will bring you back. I promise. I will rip your soul out of that mirror."
Dorian didn't answer. He simply kissed Serra's hand. His lips were as cold as marble.
(SURFACING: THE NEW WORLD)
"Hold on tight!" Lukas shouted. "We're breaching the surface!"
Goliath's massive drills shattered the layers of concrete and rock above. The shaking was so violent that Atlas had to use gravity force to stabilize the vehicle.
BOOOOM.
With one final jolt, Goliath emerged into the daylight.
The engines were idled. Everyone looked out in silence.
And they were speechless at the sight.
This wasn't Volcan City.
Dorian's "Black Sun" ritual and explosion had changed not just the palace, but the atmosphere itself.
The sky had turned a permanent shade of purple. The sun was not visible. Instead of snow, grey ash was falling from the air. Most of the buildings were destroyed, but the ruins weren't normal; stones hung suspended in the air because gravity was distorted.
"Apocalypse," Kael whispered. "We brought the apocalypse."
"No," Dorian said, watching the ash rain. "We just changed the rules."
From the distance, amidst the ruins, howling sounds were heard. But these weren't wolf howls. They were the sounds of mutated creatures feeding on shadows.
Dorian stood up. He placed Lyra in her stroller, next to Serra. The connection thinned but didn't break.
"Lukas, drive north," Dorian said, looking at the horizon with that grey void in his eyes. "Whatever stands in our way... crush it."
Goliath rumbled toward the post-apocalyptic world under that purple sky.
They were no longer fugitives. They were the first travelers of this new, broken world.