The arena reacted instantly.
The ground cracked open with a deep rumble, and a violent surge of water erupted from below. In a single breath, the shallow flood transformed into a raging ocean.
The stone floor vanished beneath crimson waves, thick and heavy, rolling endlessly in every direction.
The water wasn't blue... instead, it was dark red.
Every wave carried a crushing pressure, dense enough to bend the light above it.
The sky within the barrier turned dim, clouds swirling low and fast as if dragged down by the sea itself.
Aestrea stood still as the water rose to his knees, then his waist, then his chest.
The pressure hit next.
It pressed against his body from every direction, squeezing, grinding, trying to crush him into the sea.
Vanya floated above the blood-red waves, supported by a massive current beneath her feet. Her hair and cloak drifted freely in the heavy air as she looked down at him, her expression sharp but excited.
