The air before the pyramid’s entrance still carried the residue of the fading curse.

  The stone gate stood half open, pulses of blue light flickering within, as if a massive heart were beating somewhere deep inside.

  None of them stepped forward.

  They halted in a small clearing before the entrance, taking a moment to recover by firelight and the faint glow of the stars. The desert night had cooled, but the atmosphere remained thick and oppressive.

  Lucas removed his instruments from his pack. The needle continued to shake violently, refusing to settle. The runes on his glasses flickered in uneven rhythms, as if calculating variables beyond sight. He didn’t explain—only lowered his head and began recording.

  Erica watched him closely, her brow tightening. At last, she spoke, her voice edged with steel.

  “Lucas. You know far more about the Night Veil than you’ve been letting on.”

  His hand froze. The pen hovered above the parchment.

  The silence stretched until even the crackle of the fire sounded loud.

  “Why do you think that?” he asked calmly.

  Erica stepped closer. The jade pendant at her chest warmed faintly. She met his gaze head-on.

  “At the black market, you recognized their signs instantly. When the scroll revealed the dark imprint earlier, you identified it as the Night Veil without hesitation. A normal scholar wouldn’t react that way.”

  Lucas adjusted his glasses. Firelight danced across the lenses. He didn’t deny it—at least, not immediately.

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  “I do… know some things,” he said at last.

  Jabari snorted. He drove his short blade into the sand, blue flame licking along the edge and illuminating the tension in his jaw.

  “‘Some things’?” he growled. “Sounds like you’ve been hiding a lot more than that.”

  Lucas clenched his journal, knuckles whitening. His voice stayed low, restrained.

  “The Night Veil isn’t a recent organization. Their traces go back centuries—possibly longer. They specialize in locating and consuming energy sources like runic stones.”

  Erica’s chest tightened.

  “You knew they were connected to the runic stone?” she pressed.

  “Yes,” Lucas admitted, his gaze flickering. “But I couldn’t be certain. Not until the scroll confirmed their presence tonight.”

  A cold silence settled over them.

  The jade pendant at Erica’s chest pulsed faster, as if urging her on. Anger and unease twisted together in her throat.

  “Then why didn’t you say anything sooner?” she demanded, her voice shaking despite herself. “We nearly died—more than once.”

  Lucas’s expression faltered. For a brief moment, conflict flashed in his eyes. He exhaled slowly.

  “Because I wasn’t sure you’d believe me. And because the Night Veil isn’t just an enemy to me—they’re also the subject of my research. I needed evidence.”

  Jabari ripped his blade from the sand. Blue fire roared to life, reflecting in his eyes.

  “So what were we?” he snapped. “Test subjects?”

  “No!” Lucas shot back, his voice rising for the first time. “You’re my companions. But truth and science demand caution. I couldn’t let unverified theories dictate our actions.”

  Erica’s breathing quickened. Cold sweat coated her palms. She looked between the two of them, a deep unease settling in her chest.

  The words from the scroll echoed in her mind:

  Yet right now, an invisible chasm lay between them.

  Just as the silence reached its breaking point, a low, heavy resonance rolled out from deep within the pyramid.

  It wasn’t the wind.

  It sounded like something vast shifting beneath the stone—something alive enough to make the air and walls tremble in response.

  The fire flickered violently.

  The jade pendant at Erica’s chest flared hot. She snapped her head up, pupils contracting.

  “It’s… calling us.”

  Lucas and Jabari turned at the same time, staring toward the half-open stone gate.

  Within, the blue light pulsed again—

  like a colossal eye, opening in the dark.