Chapter 76 The Heart's Threshold

• The mountain loomed before them like a sleeping titan, its black slopes veined with crimson light that pulsed to the rhythm of a distant heartbeat. The air was thin and metallic, every breath scraping their throats. Frost clung to the rocks, but beneath it shimmered a faint red mist — not natural fog, but something alive.
• Kelvin led the ascent, his sword strapped across his back, its edge still carrying faint heat from the last battle. Behind him, Lucia’s steps were steady though her limbs trembled from exhaustion. The magic of the shards had taken its toll — her veins glowed faintly where the runes had burned into her skin.
• “Are you certain this is the last one?” Malcolm asked quietly, scanning the ridge ahead. “Each time we think it’s over, something else rises.”