The air around Sam began to shift, twisting and crackling as if it had a will of its own.
The purple orb above his head blazed brighter, flaring with power that shook the atmosphere.
And then—
Fwish! BOOM!
The sound tore through the zone as five consecutive explosions erupted around him.
Each blast rippled outward, throwing up waves of dust and scattering debris in all directions.
From the chaos, shadows began to form, shapes breaking into existence where the blasts had struck.
Sam's eyes narrowed.
'This doesn't make sense,' he thought. 'Why is that… never mind.'
It didn't matter. He was far from everyone else now.
So far, in fact, that the others had all withdrawn from this place long ago.
Almost every awakener in the [Third Zone] had already abandoned it.
They weren't going to risk challenging the unknown, not after realizing just how cruel this realm truly was.
Sam understood their choice.
Here, every mistake meant death, hesitation got you killed.
