A blinding, needle-sharp flash tore across the world—then the earth erupted.
BOOOOM!!
The explosion hit like a divine hammer. Eztein and Esriel didn't just sense their barriers breaking—they felt them rip apart, layer after layer, until the last one burst in a violent shock that rattled their bones. They were hurled backward, boots scraping against fractured ground as the shockwave screamed past.
Before them, the land buckled inward. Soil, stone, and shattered roots folded like wet paper as a monstrous blast hollowed out the earth. A mushroom of smoke and dust roared upward, swirling with burning debris and crackling arcs of raw lightning. Clumps of scorched flesh, remains of whatever creatures had once guarded this place, were flung into the air like smoldering embers.
The stench hit next—burnt fur, charred meat, and ozone thick enough to coat the tongue.
"Whoever set this trap is out of their mind!" Eztein yelled, his voice hoarse as he shielded his face from falling debris.
