Chapter 114

*Elora*

The gate pulsed behind me like a second heartbeat.

Not mine. Not Kezar’s. Not the mountain’s.

Something older. Slower. Patient.

It didn’t reach for me. It didn’t need to. It waited. Every breath I took felt heavier than the last, as if the air between me and that shimmering split in the aether was thickening. Coaxing. Calling.

It didn’t ask questions. It offered certainty.

Step through. Be