Ryan stood at the doorway, a small bell clutched tightly in his hand. It jingled erratically, a wild cascade of sound that shattered the silence.
Boom—
Just as he finished speaking, the grand doors creaked open. Ethan peered inside and was met with a wall of darkness.
Then—
Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.
Three figures flew out. The first two, clearly hurled, hit the ground hard, rolling to a stop like discarded sacks.
Ethan's eyes narrowed. It was Lachlan Silverwood and Sylvan Wynn. Crumpled. Motionless.
Behind them, stepping through the threshold, came a man cloaked in dark energy. The same figure Ethan had encountered beneath the mountain, beforeenteringthe hidden territory.
'Well,' Ethan thought as his lips tightened. 'No need to head in there anymore.'
The gathered people instantly tensed.
The man's gaze swept over the crowd.
"Hm? Whitmore Family, Hargrove, Blackwell, Wynn, Quinn... everyone's here?" He smiled thinly. "Good. Saves me the trouble of hunting you all down."
