Ludwig pressed his palms on the door. And the whole structure shook. The massive gate had been built to make lesser beings feel like insects before it, all towering metal and impossible weight, its surface engraved with shapes that caught the red sheen leaking from Noctivex's armor.
For a moment, nothing moved. Then the pressure from his enlarged body rolled forward, not as a simple push, but as a slow, crushing demand. The steps under his boots cracked deeper, dust spilling between the seams, and the hinges of the gate answered with a sound like something old being forced to remember pain.
Though the gate was gigantic, the pressure Ludwig applied was enough to make it groan, and feel like a titan was pushing a heaven's door.
The door gave way inch by inch, each movement accompanied by a shriek that echoed through the palace and bounced back from the walls as if the place itself objected to him entering in this form.
