"What's happening?" The cry rolled through the ranks as the ground began to tremble, first faint, then steady. Lines tightened; shields rose, blades slid free, and Spark skills were readied, coiling around their wielders like held breath for an enemy no one could see.
"It's coming from the Tower." Adyr's voice cut through the noise.
He stood ready to lift off, wings flexed, one hand set on the sword strap across his back, while the shaking gathered inside the stone. The pulse thickened in the Tower's core, then pushed outward in a slow, heavy wave that made the islet quiver like a struck drum.
For a heartbeat, nothing changed but the grinding underfoot. Then the dead balconies kindled. A thin, colorless glow crept along their edges, brightening by degrees as the tremors ebbed to a taut shiver.
When the last ripple faded, the wooden door at the base dragged open with a long groan, and a wash of pale light spilled across the flagstones.
