Chapter 195. The Answer Revealed

Eryndor’s POV

Before I could wrestle with doubt, Byron lunged. His right hand, wrapped in the glowing rope, struck me in the stomach like a battering ram. The impact sent me flying backward, my body smashing into a stone wall. The cavern groaned—and the floor beneath us imploded in a shower of rubble. I thought Byron had perished too when the ceiling collapsed inward, spewing boulders and dust. Then the force of the blow sent me careening upward through the tunnel, straight into a building on the surface.

“Eryndor!” Auraya’s scream pierced the rubble as I landed, dazed, in the underground city’s surface level. The gateway to Nethral—our only path back—stood shattered, its archway crumbling. There was no way in or out now.

“What happened down there?” the High Seer demanded, appearing in an instant beside her. His robes were dust-streaked and his eyes wide with curiosity. They needed answers.

I pushed myself to my feet, dusting off shattered stone and lo