The world was collapsing. 

Sioux barely had time to process what they had seen—what they had *felt*—before the chamber shook violently beneath them. The sigil’s pulse had changed from an eerie whisper to an outright scream, rattling through the stones of the Bleeding Spire. 

"We need to move!" Caedric’s voice cut through the rising chaos. 

Sioux forced themselves up, ignoring the dizzying pull of the sigil’s lingering magic. The moment their boots hit the floor, cracks spiderwebbed outward, glowing with molten light. 

The Spire was reacting—no, it was rejecting them. 

Caedric grabbed Sioux’s wrist and yanked them toward the exit just as a portion of the ceiling caved in, sending centuries-old stone crashing into the chamber. 

Sioux gritted their teeth. "How are we getting out of here?" 

"Pray that the way we came in hasn’t collapsed," Caedric snapped, already pulling them toward the spiraling staircase. 

As they ran, shadows flickered in the periphery of Sioux’s vision. At first, they thought it was just the shifting light from the sigil’s glow—but no. Something was moving between the cracks of reality, just beneath the surface of the world. 

The Forgotten.

They weren’t bound to the void anymore. They were slipping through the widening fractures, their whispers curling against Sioux’s mind. 

"Vessel… keep running… but you will never be free…" 

Sioux clenched their jaw and forced the voices out. 

Not now. 

Not when the entire Spire was about to bury them alive. 

—

The moment they reached the outer hall, the true scale of the disaster became clear. 

The entire structure was crumbling. Massive support pillars groaned under the weight of their own decay, and the once-grand corridors were filled with falling debris and choking dust. Ancient murals depicting the history of the sigil were shattered, their secrets lost forever beneath the ruins. 

And yet, despite the imminent destruction, Sioux felt something far worse brewing in the air. 

A presence. 

An awareness.

The Masquerade was watching. 

"We’re running out of time!" Caedric shouted, ducking beneath a falling beam. 

Sioux’s lungs burned as they sprinted after him, weaving through the destruction. A massive crack split the ground beneath their feet, nearly swallowing them whole. The Spire wasn’t just collapsing—it was tearing itself apart. 

They reached the main atrium just as the exit came into view—a towering archway leading out into the night. Cold air rushed through the gap, the stars barely visible through the swirling dust. 

Freedom was right there. 

And then— 

A dozen figures dropped from the rafters. 

Sioux skidded to a stop, heart hammering. 

They wore the masks of the Masquerade’s enforcers—black, featureless, their bodies cloaked in enchanted armor that shimmered in the dim light. Their weapons gleamed, curved and wicked, already drawn. 

A single figure stepped forward. Unlike the others, his mask bore a gilded insignia—a sigil of judgment. 

A Justiciar. 

"You’ve tampered with things beyond your understanding," the Justiciar said, voice hollow through the mask. "Surrender the sigil’s remnants, and we will grant you a swift death." 

Sioux’s fingers curled into fists. 

Yeah. Not happening. 

Caedric stepped forward, blades already unsheathed. "How about you get out of our way instead?" 

The Justiciar tilted his head. "Very well. Kill them." 

The enforcers lunged. 

Chaos erupted. 

Sioux ducked as a blade whistled past their ear, rolling to the side before slamming their boot into an enforcer’s ribs. The impact sent the masked figure staggering, but before Sioux could press the attack, another came from behind. 

A dagger lashed toward their back—only for Caedric’s blade to intercept it with a vicious clang. 

Caedric shoved the attacker aside, twisting his sword in a brutal arc that forced two others back. "Sioux, MOVE!" 

Sioux didn’t need to be told twice. They pivoted, grabbing a fallen enforcer’s weapon—a short, curved dagger—and used it to deflect another strike. The air was thick with magic, the enforcers moving in perfect synchronization, their attacks relentless. 

For every one they struck down, another filled their place. 

They were being cornered. 

A burst of energy crackled through the air as the Justiciar raised a hand. Runes burned in the space around him, a spell forming— 

Sioux felt the shift in power before they saw it. 

He was trying to bind them. 

Oh, hell no.

Sioux reached deep, grasping at the sigil’s lingering energy. The moment they did, a pulse of raw force exploded outward, shattering the Justiciar’s spell before it could take hold. 

The enforcers faltered for half a second. 

It was all the opening Sioux and Caedric needed. 

"GO!" Caedric shouted, driving his blade through an enforcer’s chest before yanking Sioux forward. 

They ran. 

A hail of enchanted bolts rained down after them, searing the air where they had just been. The Spire trembled violently, entire sections collapsing behind them. 

With a final leap, they burst through the archway— 

—and fell. 

The ground had given way beneath them. 

Sioux barely had time to react before they were plummeting, the ruins of the Bleeding Spire crumbling above them. The world tilted, the sky spinning, the stars a blur— 

And then— 

Cold. 

Sioux hit water. 

The icy shock tore the breath from their lungs as they plunged deep into the underground river. The current was merciless, yanking them through the submerged tunnels beneath the Spire’s ruins. 

For a few terrifying seconds, they fought against the pull, lungs burning. 

Then—hands. 

Caedric grabbed them, dragging them upward. They broke the surface together, gasping for air. 

The river carried them forward, the ruins of the Spire shrinking into the distance above them. 

Sioux coughed, spitting water. "That… was too close." 

Caedric wiped his face, shaking his head. "We’re not safe yet." 

Sioux followed his gaze. 

The river was leading them toward an unknown cavern, the darkness stretching ahead like the gaping maw of a beast. 

And somewhere beyond it, they knew— 

The hunt had only just begun.