Cora pressed her palm against her forehead. "It's already happening. The forgetting thingy."
Renard moved to her side. "Focus on your breathing. Count your steps. The curse feeds on panic."
"I'm not panicking."
"Then count."
She gritted her teeth and began counting. One. Two. Three. The fog in her mind didn't lift, but it stopped spreading.
Derek's ghosts drifted ahead, their cold presence cutting through the weight. Dr. Blackwood's voice was steady. "The stairs continue down. The curse thickens near the foundation."
Lucian walked past Cora. "Follow me."
The stairs spiraled deeper. The walls were damp, streaked with minerals that glowed faintly in Mason's heat-light. The air grew heavier. Each step felt like wading through water.
Sera stopped. "I can feel something ahead. Old. Angry. Not alive."
"The revenant," Renard said. "Guardian of the fragment. It's been here for centuries. The curse is tied to it."
