The tunnel ended at a massive iron grate, rusted by centuries of dampness but reinforced by the Church's protective runes. Beyond the bars lay the Gate of Tears, the heavily fortified southern exit of Oakhaven that led into the Whispering Barrens.
"This is as far as I go," the Seeker whispered, his eyes darting toward the shadows. "The Inquisition has a sensory array at the gatehouse. If I step out there with you, my head ends up on a pike by sunrise."
Alaric didn't thank him. He didn't have the breath for it. He stepped out of the drainage pipe, his metallic arm humming with an intense silver light. The Star-Steel was now fully integrated into his skeletal structure, making every movement feel heavy, yet terrifyingly powerful.
"Alaric, look," Evelyn whispered, pointing upward.
On the battlements of the gate, soldiers were not just standing guard; they were preparing a ritual. Twelve priests in white robes stood in a circle, their voices chanting in a low, vibrating unison. The air began to shimmer with golden particles—The Saint's Barrier. Once the ritual was complete, nothing with a trace of "impurity" would be able to pass through the gate alive.
"They're turning the gate into an incinerator," Alaric realized.
"We can't go through, and we can't go back," Evelyn said, her hand clutching the small vial of dragon-blood she had kept as a last resort. "Alaric, if you use the full power of the core now, the barrier will react. It will be like an explosion inside your chest."
Alaric looked at the barrier, then at the forest beyond the walls. Freedom was only a hundred yards away. Behind them, the sounds of Gareth's knights echoing in the sewers were getting louder.
"I won't let you die in this cage," Alaric growled.
He set Evelyn down behind a stone pillar. He stood in the center of the road, facing the Great Gate. He didn't raise a sword. Instead, he dropped into a low stance, his Star-Steel arm digging into the cobblestones. He began to draw mana—not just from his own core, but from the industrial steam pipes running beneath the street.
The "Dragon's Breath" didn't come from his lungs this time. It surged from his silver palm. A beam of combined frost and kinetic force slammed into the golden barrier. The sky turned a blinding white as the two opposing powers fought for dominance.
"Break!" Alaric screamed, his scales turning a deep, scorched black from the feedback.
The golden dome cracked. The priests on the wall fell back, their eyes bleeding from the spiritual backlash. With one final roar, the Gate of Tears shattered outward, the massive iron doors torn from their hinges.
Alaric grabbed Evelyn and lunged into the darkness of the woods just as a spear of pure light—thrown by a pursuing Gareth—pierced the ground where they had stood a second before.
They were out. But the price of the breach was etched onto Alaric's body in the form of glowing white scars that refused to heal.