Chapter 17: The Seventh Anchor

Ryn's body reassembled itself molecule by screaming molecule.

One moment there was only the void—no sight, no sound, just the terrible sensation of being unraveled. Then the world slammed back into existence with the force of a thunderclap. He collapsed onto cold stone, his muscles spasming as nerve endings reignited. The taste of lightning filled his mouth, metallic and sharp.

The first breath was agony. His lungs burned as if he'd inhaled fire. When he finally forced his eyes open, blinking away tears and static discharge, he found himself in a circular chamber that defied all logic.

The walls weren't stone but something organic—smooth and slightly translucent, pulsing with a slow rhythm like a sleeping giant's heartbeat. Strange veins of blue light branched across the surfaces, converging at a central dais where a figure sat cross-legged, their silhouette haloed in stormlight.

Ryn tried to speak, but his voice came out a broken whisper. "Where—"

"Anchor Site Theta." The figure unfolded with unnatural grace. "Last temple of the Stormcallers."

As the speaker stepped into the light, Ryn recoiled. The man's skin had turned to something resembling weathered parchment, cracked in places to reveal glimpses of swirling storm beneath. His eyes were pure white, no pupil or iris visible, and when he smiled, his teeth gleamed like polished quartz.

"You're one of them," Ryn rasped. "One of the First's disciples."

The figure inclined his head. "Kaelan Stormborn. Seventh and final anchor." He moved closer, his bare feet leaving faint blue impressions on the stone that faded after seconds. "Though you may call me what remains of him."

Ryn's stone flared to life, its glow illuminating the chamber's true nature—this wasn't a building but a cavity inside something vast. The walls weren't walls at all, but the interior of a monolith buried deep beneath the earth. And the veins of light weren't decoration—they were restraints, pulsing with fading energy as they stretched downward into unimaginable depths.

Kaelan placed a hand on Ryn's shoulder. The contact sent a jolt of foreign memories flooding through him—

*Six figures standing in a circle, their bodies alight with storm energy*

*The First Stormcaller plunging his hands into the earth, his scream shaking mountains*

*A seventh figure hesitating at the crucial moment, his eyes flickering with doubt*

The vision shattered as Kaelan withdrew his touch. "The Brewer shouldn't have sent you here. Not yet."

Ryn struggled to his feet, his legs trembling. "He didn't have a choice. The Crown found us."

"Found you?" Kaelan's laugh sounded like wind through dead branches. "Child, they've always known where you were. The stones sing your location to anyone who knows how to listen."

He gestured, and the chamber's surface rippled like water. Images formed—Lira and the Brewer fighting back-to-back against silver-armored soldiers, their weapons spitting voidfire that left smoking craters where it struck. The Brewer moved with impossible speed, his aged body twisting in ways that shouldn't be possible, his hands leaving afterimages as they struck.

"Your companions won't last much longer," Kaelan observed. "The old man is stronger than he looks, but even he can't withstand direct void exposure for long."

Ryn's stone pulsed in time with his racing heart. "Send me back."

"Impossible." Kaelan turned toward the central dais. "But there is another way."

The dais split open with a sound like cracking ice. From within rose a pedestal holding seven slots—six empty, one occupied by a stone fragment identical to Ryn's.

"The anchor network," Kaelan said. "Once, these stones bound the Devourer with the strength of seven storms. Now only two remain." He removed his fragment, holding it out to Ryn. "Merge them, and you'll have power enough to reach your friends—but the price will be permanent."

Ryn stared at the offered stone. "What price?"

Kaelan's parchment skin cracked further as he smiled. "The same one we all paid. Your humanity, piece by piece, until only the storm remains."

Outside the monolith, something vast shifted in the dark. The walls trembled.

"It wakes," Kaelan whispered. "Decide quickly, Stormcaller."

Ryn reached for the stone.