Chapter 193. Our Vow

Xerina’s POV

The world around us seemed to stand still in the aftermath of the battle. The seal we created hung in the sky, a shimmering sphere of light that pulsed with the remnants of our power. I felt hollow, like the essence of my being had been stripped away, leaving nothing but an empty shell. My breath came in ragged gasps as I fell to my knees, the Grimoire still clutched in my trembling hands.

Rasmus was the first to break the silence, his voice weak but filled with a determination that refused to fade. “We did it,” he whispered, his eyes fixed on the sky where the rift had once been. “We closed the gate. The Old Ones are sealed away.”

But even as he spoke, the shadows around us began to ripple, and Kharon emerged once more, his form more twisted and monstrous than before. The darkness seemed to writhe around him, tendrils of black smoke curling and snapping like serpents. His eyes blazed with fury, the burning coals of his gaze fixed on us.

“