Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 321 - Chapitre 330

Hunter POVMolly emerged from behind the crystal formations a few minutes later, her damp hair tied into a loose braid.She looked refreshed."So," she said, adjusting her backpack onto both shoulders, "ready?"I nodded."As ready as I'll ever be."The strange lake had washed away most of the grime clinging to my skin, but it hadn't washed away the unease growing inside me.Something about this place felt...Wrong.Not dangerous.Familiar.As though I had walked these tunnels before.We resumed our journey, following the narrow passage that curved away from the lake.The crystals continued glowing softly around us, casting shifting colors over the stone walls.The deeper we walked, the stronger the strange humming became.It wasn't loud.It was constant.Almost like a heartbeat.Molly suddenly stopped.She tilted her head."You hear that?"I listened.At first...Nothing.Then...Very faintly.Water.Not flowing.Falling.A waterfall."It's ahead," she said, smiling."A waterfall usua

Hunter POVOne sentence refused to leave my mind.Don't trust your memories.I had written it.Again and again.The words appeared throughout the journal, underlined so many times that the paper itself had nearly torn.But...Which memories?The old ones?The new ones?The ones I had recovered?Or the ones I was making now?I rubbed my temples as Molly and I continued walking through the endless crystal tunnels.Every few minutes I found myself checking the journal again, hoping another sentence would suddenly reveal the answer.It never did.Only the same warning.Don't trust your memories.The further we walked, the heavier those words became.After another full day of walking, our legs finally gave out.The distant roar we'd been hearing for hours became deafening.We rounded one final bend.And stopped.A waterfall.A real one.Or so it seemed.Crystal-clear water cascaded from an opening high above, crashing into a deep pool below.Beyond it...Light.Natural sunlight.For a mome

Hunter POVThe surface of the black water rippled.Then...Something climbed out.Not a monster.Not really.At first, it looked like a mass of living shadows.Then it stood.Straightened.Its outline became unmistakably human.Mine.Only...Wrong.Its eyes were empty.Its smile was twisted.And from its shoulders poured the same shadows I had been unable to summon since entering the ley lines.Between its enormous jaws hung a familiar backpack.Blue.Worn.Molly's backpack.Exactly as I had seen it before.The creature smiled."You finally remembered."I drew a slow breath."So you're my trial."The monster tilted its head."No.""I am your reflection."It took one heavy step toward me."I am everything you refuse to become."Behind me, I heard the roar of the waterfall growing louder.I turned just enough to see Molly standing before it.The water itself had risen into a towering wall.It no longer resembled a waterfall.It flowed upward, downward and sideways all at once, constantl

Hunter POVThe moment Molly and I stepped through the waterfall...The world changed.The deafening roar of the water disappeared behind us as though someone had closed a door.I turned around instinctively.The waterfall was still there.Flowing endlessly.But from this side...Not a single drop entered the cavern.It formed a perfect curtain of shimmering light, separating whatever lay beyond from the place we now stood."So..."Molly whispered."There really was something behind it."I nodded slowly."I don't think that waterfall was ever the exit."We stood inside a wide cavern unlike any we had seen before.The walls were smooth, almost polished, covered with veins of glowing crystal.Unlike the tunnels behind us, however...These crystals weren't all the same color.Several passages branched away from the central chamber.Each one glowed with a different light.One shimmered blue.Another green.One burned with crimson light.A violet tunnel twisted sharply to the left.Farther

Hunter POVIt took us eight days.Eight days of following Molly's maps.Eight days of crossing worlds that had nothing to do with ours.Eight days of hoping each green and yellow tunnel would finally be the right one.On the morning of the ninth day...We found it.The moment we stepped into the mouth of the cave, I felt it.The air.The smell.Decay.Blood.Chemicals.I immediately grabbed Molly's arm."Wait."She nodded silently.We crouched near the entrance and carefully looked through the portal.Neither of us spoke.We didn't need to.Monsters.Dozens of them.Mutants.Some slept inside enormous cages.Others wandered aimlessly between metal tables.Several were chained to the walls.This was one of Elias's laboratories.We had finally found the portal connected to the antenna."Elias..."Molly whispered."I don't see him.""Neither do I."Which didn't make me feel any better.If he wasn't here...He could return at any moment.I slowly studied the cave surrounding the portal.U