Chapter VI
Midnight Procession
The rhythm reached her before the figures did: a distant pulse in the stone, gradually assembling into measured movement. Beyond the sanctuary, an immense passage opened beneath a midnight sky that could not possibly exist underground.
A procession moved through it, faces hidden, bronze light flickering across the stone. She stepped aside, but the figures did not pass. Without breaking formation, they widened and made space for her.
She understood.
When she joined them, the rhythm seemed to change—not because the procession altered, but because she finally heard what had always been there. Together they moved forward. This time, she knew the way.


