Chapter 62
The space did not wait this time. The moment Ariana felt the shift, everything changed at once, the darkness abandoning its restraint and striking without hesitation. The pressure dropped hard from above, slamming into her chest and shoulders as if something was trying to drive her into the ground. The space twisted violently, no longer controlled or contained, and the darkness thickened as it folded inward, trying to close around her before anything outside could reach her.
Ariana staggered as her breath caught sharply, her knees bending under the force, but she did not fall. The deeper current inside her surged, not upward and not toward the darkness, but toward her, and that was the difference now. It was answering her, not fully and not completely, but enough to hold her in place. The ground beneath her cracked as thin glowing lines spread outward, as if something buried deep below was reacting to what was happening above.
"You are destabilizing everything."
