Chapter 66

Sarah's POV

The world came back slowly....first as a distant hum in my ears, then as the feeling of rough stone beneath my hands. My body ached all over, and my lungs burned with each shallow breath. I forced my eyes open, blinking against the haze that blurred my vision.

The chamber was gone, replaced by a vast, empty expanse of grey. It was neither warm nor cold, and the air carried a strange stillness that sent a chill down my spine.

"Axel?" I croaked, my voice barely audible.

No response.

Panic flared in my chest, cutting through the haze of exhaustion. I pushed myself to my feet, swaying as the ground seemed to ripple beneath me. "Axel!" I called again, louder this time.

The silence stretched before it was broken by a low groan. I spun toward the sound, relief flooding through me as I saw Axel's form stirring a few feet away.

He was covered in dust and debris, his clothes torn, but he was alive. "Axel," I said, rushing to his side.

He sat up slowly, wincing as he did. "I'm okay," he muttered, though his voice was strained. "What… what happened?"

I helped him to his feet, glancing around the strange, featureless landscape. "I don't know. The rift… I stabbed it, and then everything just—"

"Shattered," Axel finished, his gaze scanning the emptiness. "This doesn't look like the mansion anymore."

"No," I agreed, a deep unease settling in my chest. "It doesn't."

Before we could say more, a soft sound reached my ears—a faint, rhythmic tapping, like footsteps on stone. I turned toward the noise, my heart racing.

Out of the grey void, a figure emerged.

It was Eren.

But he wasn't the monstrous version of himself we'd faced in the mansion. He looked… human. His once inhuman eyes had returned to their original green, though they carried a haunted quality, and his posture was less imposing, almost fragile.

"You destroyed it," he said, his voice quiet and distant. "You destroyed the rift."

Axel stepped in front of me, his body tensing as if preparing for a fight. "Stay back, Eren," he warned.

But Eren didn't move. He simply stood there, his gaze fixed on me. "Do you realize what you've done, Sarah? You've severed the connection, but it hasn't ended. You've only trapped us here."

"Trapped?" I echoed, dread pooling in my stomach.

Eren gestured to the grey expanse around us. "This isn't the world you knew. It's the rift's remnant—a place between life and death, between reality and oblivion. By destroying the rift, you've sealed us all here."

"That's not possible," Axel said firmly, though there was a hint of doubt in his voice. "The dagger was supposed to end this. It was supposed to stop you."

Eren's expression darkened, a flicker of his old malice returning. "You can't stop something you don't understand. The rift was never just a portal or a source of power. It was a bridge, a connection to everything. And now that bridge is broken, leaving us stranded on its remains."

I swallowed hard, my mind racing. "There has to be a way out. There has to be a way to undo this."

Eren tilted his head, a bitter smile playing on his lips. "Perhaps. But it won't be easy. The rift's energy still lingers, scattered across this place. If you can gather it, maybe you can rebuild the bridge. Or…" His gaze turned sharp, his voice dropping. "You can stay here with me. Forever."

The air around us seemed to grow heavier, the weight of his words pressing down on me.

"No," Axel said firmly, stepping closer to Eren. "We're not staying here. And we're not rebuilding anything that lets you keep your hold on Sarah."

Eren's smile widened, though there was no warmth in it. "You think you're in control here, Axel? You don't belong to this place the way Sarah and I do. You're an intruder, an anomaly. The rift won't let you leave without a price."

"What price?" I demanded, stepping forward despite Axel's attempt to hold me back.

Eren's gaze locked onto mine, and for a moment, I saw the man I had once loved—the man who had been kind and gentle before the rift corrupted him. "That's for you to discover, Sarah. But know this: every choice you make here will come with consequences. And when the time comes, you'll have to decide what matters most—freedom or sacrifice."

The ground beneath us trembled, and cracks began to form, glowing with an otherworldly light. The grey expanse shifted, transforming into a maze of floating platforms and jagged terrain, each piece pulsing with the remnants of the rift's energy.

Eren took a step back, his form starting to flicker. "You'll see soon enough. The rift doesn't forgive, and it doesn't forget."

Before I could respond, he vanished, dissolving into the air like smoke.

Axel turned to me, his jaw tight. "What do we do now?"

I stared at the maze ahead, the glow of the rift's energy illuminating the path we'd have to take.

"We find a way out," I said, gripping the dagger tighter in my hand. "Whatever it takes."

Axel nodded, determination hardening his features. "Then let's finish this."