The descent was not like falling through air or sinking through water. It felt like pushing through a wall of solid gelatin. The mana density in the Deepest Trench—the wound in the world where the Draconic Legion was sealed—was so high it possessed physical resistance.
Alvian led the formation, his body a spearhead cutting through the oppressive weight. Below them, the water turned from black to a bruised, reddish-purple. This wasn't natural light; it was the radiation leaking from the seal, a toxic energy that mutated everything it touched.
[System Warning: Environmental Hazard - Draconic Pressure.]
[Effect: All stats reduced by 20%. Constant stamina drain.]
[Passive [Void Monarch] mitigating effect...]
"It feels like the ocean is trying to crush my skull," Valeria gritted out over the comms, her voice strained. Her golden aura was compressed tight against her armor, flickering under the strain.
