Chapter 250

• I used my finger to push one of the artifacts out of the circle, and instantly, the other ones stopped glowing when I did that. The moment I moved it, the magical energy that had been pulsing and radiating from the circle faded. A quiet stillness fell over the area. It seemed so simple, but it was enough to throw the entire ritual off course.
• At the time, I didn’t realize that if I moved just one of the objects, then they would have to start from the beginning all over again. The ritual required precise timing and placement, and if anything was disrupted, the entire process would collapse. That was the only loophole I could see in the entire setup. As long as I could keep doing that—disrupting just one piece each time—then I could keep resetting the ritual. I could buy myself enough time to figure out what to do next or wait for help. That time, even just a few minutes, might be the only advantage I had.
• Meanwhile, around the corner, Ethan had already noticed that I wasn’t in sight anymore. He had been keeping an eye on everything, alert and cautious, but the moment I slipped out of view, his instincts kicked in. Something felt off. Something wasn’t right. And not far from where he stood, Ryker was in a lot of pain—a lot more than he should have been for the kind of injuries that he had sustained. Ethan noticed it immediately. The pain wasn’t just physical. It was something deeper, something magical, and much more sinister.