The sharp crack of an explosion split the stagnant air, followed by the heavy, dull thud of something massive hitting the ground.
Dust rolled outward in thick waves, swallowing the battlefield in a choking haze. The lifeless terrain—splintered tree trunks, shattered branches, and soil pitted with craters—vanished beneath the gray curtain.
For a moment, there was silence.
Then, with a low, concussive boom, another blast erupted from within the haze. The pressure wave punched outward, scattering the dust and peeling it away like a tattered veil. The battlefield reemerged—a place so ravaged it felt out of place for a dungeon of this supposed rank. Deep scars marred the earth. Pools of black ichor steamed where they'd splashed, hissing on contact with the ground.
