Chapter 61

Samkiel summons The Hand in a rune chamber, reprimanding Cameron and Xavier for endangering Dianna by returning her to Onuna. With Imogen’s calculations and Camilla’s forged runes, Samkiel cuts his palm and uses his blood to reopen the residual rift to Yejedin, prioritizing speed and a direct confrontation with Kaden.

They arrive in a scorched, sulfurous Yejedin, the landscape shattered by Dianna’s prior onslaught. Advancing through ruined halls toward an obsidian stronghold, Samkiel and Logan discuss Dianna and Samkiel’s conflicted hope. Logan observes Dianna fights like Samkiel and suggests patience. The march continues through oppressive quiet and absence of Kaden’s beasts.

In a quieter corridor, Logan reveals his true burden: after Kaden is defeated, he and Neverra want release from The Hand to live a life together. Samkiel, recognizing their suffering and the curse of his own immortality, agrees without hesitation, granting them freedom once the threat is ended.

Deeper within, the pair discover a cavern of tiered doors bridged by catwalks. The runes above each door reveal they are containment sigils: Yejedin is a prison for ancient, powerful beings. Samkiel sends The Hand back, surveys further, then returns to bring everyone to witness the truth.

Before the emptied cells and broken, rune‑carved chains, Samkiel explains his realization: Kaden was once held here, but the destruction indicates not an escape, rather a breach from outside. Pointing to a massive fissure, he concludes someone broke into the dimension long ago, freed many prisoners, and likely commands them. The Hand recognizes the scale—only a god or something worse could do this—escalating the stakes beyond Kaden.