Z land

Previously

…He gestured to the vast, starlit cavern. “Elara chose to sacrifice herself. A powerful act. But there are other ways to pay. Ways that benefit those who understand the system.” He extended a hand towards me. “Come, Jackson. Let’s talk about your future. And mine.” The weight of Elara’s sacrifice settled upon me, a crushing burden. I had escaped the Grubs, but I had walked right into Silas’s trap. The price of survival, I was learning, was far higher than I had ever imagined. And I feared, with a chilling certainty, that the cost was only just beginning to be tallied.