Chapter 27 The Cost Of Protection

It was a world whose troubled streets pulsed with dangerous energy, as though civilization itself was on a delicate razor. Under the weak luminescence of a sputtering streetlamp, she held Alex Mercer by the hand as they huddled close, our years of love finally tied. But they also understood that this was just a veneer a veneer to the calm exterior because the reality was that the peace they had so tirelessly fought to achieve was precarious, and the dark tendrils of the Abyss had not been fully cast out. “Are you sure you’re okay? ” Mara requested, her voice low but tinged with worry. She’d noticed the strain in Alex’s eyes, the slight tremor in his hands when he thought nobody was watching. His war with the Abyss had left more than wounds; scabs and scars healed over time but the torment endured much longer.