The final seconds felt longer than they should.
The air vibrated, the ground cracked, and the remaining energy pulsed wildly without direction.
Everything built in that place was slowly losing its form.
In the midst of that chaos, two figures still stood facing each other, not moving an inch.
Adrian Blackwood stared straight ahead, his eyes cold, his breathing heavy yet steady.
Before him, Marcus Sterling stood with a body beginning to lose balance, his smile not yet completely gone.
"We finally made it here," Marcus said softly, his voice still calm despite the pressure around them growing heavier.
Adrian did not answer; he simply took one step forward, slowly but surely, as if every movement had already been calculated.
The ground beneath them shook harder, the cracks widened, and flashes of energy struck sporadically around them, making the air feel both hot and cold at the same time.
On the other side, Leonard Graves held back the remaining resistance trying to approach.
