The sky darkened as the colossal winged seeker descended.
Its wings moved slowly, yet every single beat sent violent winds tearing through the ruins of the city.
Concrete shattered.
Street signs ripped from the ground.
Dust spiraled upward like a storm being born.
Elena Voss could barely stay standing.
The guardian creature planted his claws into the cracked pavent to keep from being thrown backward.
“Move!” he shouted.
But Elena still stared upward.
The creature circling above them was impossibly large.
Its wings stretched across entire city blocks.
Bone-white feathers glowed faintly beneath the gray clouds.
And its eyes—
Cold silver.
Watching her.
Studying her.
The sky predator lowered its massive head as it descended closer.
Keeper...
The voice echoed directly inside Elena’s mind.
Not loud.
But impossible to ignore.
Her chest tightened.
“You can hear it too?” she asked weakly.
The guardian nodded grimly.
“Yes.”
Another scream tore through the sky as the creature dropped lower.
Now its wings cast an enormous shadow across the street.
Zombies scattered through the ruins, fleeing into dark alleys and shattered buildings.
Even the creatures hiding beneath the earth retreated deeper underground.
The entire city was reacting to the seeker.
Everyone except Elena.
She remained frozen.
Because the voice inside her mind continued speaking.
Open the door.
The scar on her chest suddenly burned.
Elena gasped.
Her hand flew to the mark.
“No...”
The guardian saw it instantly.
“Elena?”
The scar pulsed again.
A faint outline of the crooked eye symbol began glowing beneath her skin.
The seeker’s silver eyes brightened.
It had seen.
The door rembers.
Elena stumbled backward.
“I’m not opening anything!”
The massive creature spread its wings wide and hovered above the broken street.
The air pressure alone crushed nearby cars flat against the pavent.
All doors must be tested.
The guardian creature stepped in front of Elena again.
“You will not touch her.”
The seeker’s giant head slowly turned toward him.
Its silver eyes narrowed slightly.
For a brief mont, the ancient predator considered him.
Then it spoke again.
Guardian...
The word carried ancient recognition.
The guardian’s claws tightened.
“You know what I am.”
Yes.
The creature lowered itself closer to the ground.
Its talons touched the street.
The impact shattered asphalt for thirty ters.
The entire city trembled.
Elena stared in horror.
Standing on the ruined street, the seeker towered over buildings.
Its wings folded slowly behind its skeletal fra.
The guardian creature whispered under his breath.
“It ca faster than I thought.”
Elena forced herself to speak.
“What happens now?”
The guardian didn’t look away from the towering predator.
“Now it tests you.”
The seeker’s head lowered until its enormous silver eye stared directly at Elena.
She could see her own reflection inside it.
Small.
Fragile.
Human.
The voice returned to her mind.
Open the door... or prove it is closed.
The scar on her chest flared again.
Pain surged through her body.
Elena collapsed to one knee.
The crooked eye symbol began glowing brighter beneath her skin.
The guardian turned in alarm.
“Elena, fight it!”
She clenched her teeth, shaking violently.
“I’m trying!”
The seeker watched silently.
Waiting.
Because this was not an attack.
It was a test.
And if Elena failed...
The door inside her would open again.
And this ti—
Everything beyond it would co through.
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