The thousand hyenas wavered like mirages in desert heat. The lava beneath his feet lost its burning intensity, becoming nothing more than harmless stone. The hellish landscape that had seemed so absolutely real moments before revealed itself as nothing more than an elaborate mental projection.
Arthur's perceptions snapped back to true reality with jarring abruptness. He stood exactly where he had entered the Bone Cathedral, surrounded by the macabre decorations that marked the hyena pack's domain. His legs showed no signs of burning, his equipment remained intact, and his abilities responded normally to his mental commands.
The entire nightmare sequence had lasted less than a second in real time, though it had felt like minutes of genuine torment within the illusion's compressed timeframe.
