The field outside the portal was crowded.
Nathan stood with his party, blinking in the sudden brightness. The sky above was blue. Real blue. Not the pale grey of the Ashen Expanse. The sun was warm on his face. He could hear birds. He could hear wind. The world felt alive again.
Then he saw the other parties.
They were emerging from other portals scattered across the field. Silver Drake's vanguard. Red Dragon's strike team. Golden Hawk's scouts. Goldcrest's assault unit. The two independent parties. All of them were stepping out of their own exits, looking confused and disoriented.
Seraphine was the first to speak. She walked toward Nathan, her silver armor gleaming. "Cross. What happened? We were inside for hours. Then the World just... ended. The sky turned blue and the portal spat us out."
Hours. Nathan felt a chill. He looked at the sun. It had been morning when they entered the Ashen Expanse. Now it was late afternoon.
