The murals ended, but the crypt did not. At the far end of the angel chamber stood a flight of stairs spiraling upward into the dark. The steps were wide, carved from the same ancient stone, and wound along the walls of a shaft so tall the torchlight couldn't reach the ceiling.
"Upwards?" Lex asked, his voice echoing faintly.
Veyra nodded. "There's no other path. Stay close. Conserve your strength."
They began the climb.
The staircase circled endlessly, one curve blending into the next, as though they were ascending the inside of a vast tower buried underground. Their footsteps rang against stone, accompanied only by the faint crackle of torches and the sound of labored breathing.
Minutes stretched into what felt like hours. Muscles burned, sweat beaded across brows, and yet still the stairs went on.
"Feels like we've walked a whole league," Nolan muttered, pausing to lean against the wall. "And the top's still nowhere in sight."
Phoebe, though weary, kept her pace steady.
The higher they climbed, the more the air shifted — thinner, colder, tinged with something sharp. The oppressive stillness of the crypt gave way to faint sounds, like distant whispers carried down the shaft.
Finally, after what must have been close to a kilometer of steps, they reached a heavy door at the top. It was massive, ironbound, the edges crusted with rust and moss.
Lex pushed. It didn't budge.
"It's sealed," he said, pressing harder.
Nolan stepped forward. "Then we break it." Together with Lex, he braced his shoulder against the door and shoved. It groaned but held. They tried again. And again.
Veyra finally lifted her hand. "Stand back." She pressed her palm to the iron, her thread flaring faintly, and with a sharp crack the hinges gave way. The door burst outward, light flooding through the gap.
They staggered out, shielding their eyes against the sudden brightness.
Before us stretched a forest unlike any us had seen.
The trees were impossibly tall, their trunks blackened as though scorched, their branches draped with thick chains that clinked faintly in the wind. The canopy loomed high above, yet sunlight broke through in narrow beams, giving the place an eerie twilight glow. Every surface — bark, stone, even the roots beneath their feet — seemed bound by iron links, snaking endlessly through the forest.
The air was cold, and heavy, carrying with it a metallic tang, like blood on steel.
For a long moment, none of us spoke.
Lily finally broke the silence. "This… is new. Even for us."
I stared at the endless expanse of chained trees, my chest tight. The forest stretched in every direction, vast and suffocating.
Veyra's gaze hardened, her tone grim. "The Chained Forest. I had hoped never to see it with my own eyes."
And suddenly, the climb, the murals, the crypt all of it felt like preparation. Like the forest had been waiting.
We hadn't even set foot ten paces beyond the stair's exit before the forest stirred.
The chains dangling from the canopy began to rattle—not from the wind, but from movement. A low growl rolled through the trees, deep and guttural, vibrating in their bones.
Vivi froze. "Tell me that's just the chains."
But it wasn't.
Shapes emerged from the shadows between the trees, eyes glowing faintly like burning embers. Wolves — but nothing like the ones from the villages or mountains. Their bodies were lean and jagged, fur streaked with unnatural black veins, and lengths of chain pierced through their flesh as though the forest itself had shackled them.
The first came crawling out, lips curled back over jagged teeth. Then another. Then dozens more.
Phoebe hissed under her breath. "Layer Twos. At least ten… no, fifteen."
The ground trembled, and a much larger shape lumbered into sight — taller than a horse, its head brushing low-hanging chains, eyes glowing crimson. Its fur was slick with something dark, its chains heavier, clinking like iron bells.
Nolan's voice tightened. "That's a Layer Three."
They drew closer, encircling the group. Growls rose like a chorus, vibrating through the trees. The air reeked of blood and rust.
Lex stepped forward, knuckles cracking as his thread flared faintly. "We can take them. Just don't lose formation."
Lily forced a grin that didn't reach her eyes. "Right, because Fifteen wolves and their big brother is just a morning jog."
The wolves crouched, muscles rippling, ready to pounce.
I gripped my brittle weapon, sweat running cold down my back as I counted the glowing eyes, the fangs, the sheer impossible number of them.
I swallowed hard."…We're fucked."