Chapter 10 – The Pulse Beneath the Iron Veins

😁 This chapter marks the first real fracture point in Leth’s control arc. Up to now, the Blood Engine has been a weapon he uses; Chapter 10 is where it starts using him. I wanted the Hunters’ ambush to feel less like a battle and more like a diagnostic test—someone, somewhere, is watching what he becomes under pressure. Mira’s fear here isn’t about losing Leth; it’s about what the Engine might choose to turn him into. Their fall at the end is symbolic on purpose: they’re dropping into the truth neither of them has been ready to face. From Chapter 11 onward, the world stops reacting to Leth and starts preparing for him. The question isn’t “Can he control the Engine?” anymore— It’s “What happens if he does?”