The room hadn't moved since Elias disappeared.
No breath.
No sound.
No words.
Dave sat on the edge of a crate, gripping the hilt of a knife he wasn't sure he'd need. Evelyn paced. Jonas leaned against the wall, arms folded, eyes locked on the glowing seal like it might come alive again.
And Kade?
Kade was losing it.
"He's been gone too long," the Old Wolf growled.
"You all think this is normal? You think this is how this works?"
"No one thinks anything," Jonas muttered.
"We don't know how this works."
"That's the damn problem!" Kade roared, slamming his fist into the wall.
"You expect me to sit here while my daughter's soul dangles in hell and our only plan is to wait?!"
"Getting angry won't bring them back," Evelyn said calmly.
Kade's glare could've shattered stone.
"No," he hissed. "But if this gate closes before Elias gets her out, I swear to whatever god's listening—I'm dragging him back myself."
Meanwhile…
Darkness.
Elias stumbled through a fractured version of reality—fog thick and wrong, like ash swirling underwater. The world around him looked like memories warped in a mirror. Familiar buildings bent at impossible angles. Faces flashed by—faces he didn't recognize…
but somehow felt like he should.
"Mira?" he called out.
No answer.
He walked further. The silence here wasn't silence—it was pressure. Cold. Heavy. Watching.
Then he saw her.
A girl.
Standing near a cracked fountain.
Still.
Silent.
Hair dark and tangled.
White gown torn at the hem.
Her back to him.
Elias's breath caught.
"Mira…"
He stepped closer.
No response.
Something felt wrong.
Her body didn't sway.
Didn't breathe.
Didn't blink.
He circled slowly.
And when she turned—
He froze.
Her skin was gray.
Veins like black ink spread across her cheeks.
Her lips curled upward—too wide.
Her eyes?
Pitch black. Empty. Hungry.
"Found her," she whispered.
Her voice wasn't Mira's.
It echoed—like three people speaking at once.
"She's dead," the thing smiled.
"Died calling your name."
Then she laughed.
Low. Wicked.
Like a shadow that had worn her skin for years.
Elias stepped back, heart pounding like war drums.
But he didn't draw his weapon.
He just stared.
Because somewhere in that monster's voice…
He heard her crying.