Mana rumbled and tumbled through the air as though it had become a new form of thunder itself, a living force that rejected silence. The atmosphere screamed with madness, shrieking as it thickened and grew unbearably heavy in real time, pressing down upon everything beneath it.
Neither Anthony nor Lucian had even tapped into the mana within their cores yet, yet the mana within the separate plane reacted violently regardless, responding instinctively to their clashing intents alone, as though reality itself recognized the coming catastrophe.
Lucian floated high above, staring down at Anthony with a wide smile stretched across his face, his eyes glinting with excitement and hunger. Below him, Anthony stood firm, gazing upward at Lucian with that very same smile, calm yet sharp, confident yet predatory. At that exact moment, both men regarded the other as prey, while simultaneously believing themselves to be the apex predator standing at the top of the food chain.
