Jason walked in silence, his boots crunching against the grey soil of the Bleak Marrow. The ant king led the way, his small red body weaving between rocks, his six arms swaying with each step.
Ylva was close behind him, her ears swiveling, her nose testing the air. Mae brought up the rear, her hooves clicking steadily.
Something had changed.
Jason could sense it—a shift in the atmosphere, a weight pressing down on his chest. The farther they traveled, the heavier it became. The trees grew more twisted, their branches like skeletal fingers clawing at the grey sky. The soil darkened from grey to black. The air grew colder, thinner.
He knew things were about to get serious.
The threat ahead might be unlike anything they had experienced. He didn't know how he knew—maybe it was instinct, maybe it was the system, maybe it was the ant king's tense posture feeding into his own nerves. But the feeling was unmistakable.
"Something waits for us."
