Cain shouted, his voice cutting through the sky like a blade drawn from its sheath.
"Blood Rain!"
The word had barely finished echoing when the heavens above the Chimera Ant Empire twisted unnaturally, clouds spiraling inward as if the sky itself had been wounded. A deep red seeped through the gray, not falling all at once but gathering slowly, thick drops forming like coagulating wounds suspended in the air.
At first, the humanoid insects below simply stared.
"What is that?" one of them muttered, shielding his compound eyes as the first droplets touched his chitin.
Another laughed nervously. "Some kind of illusion?"
The rain began to fall.
Not heavy, not fast, just steady, patient drops splashing against armor, wings, and exposed skin. For a few heartbeats, nothing happened. The city remained frozen in confusion, guards looking up, civilians murmuring uneasily, children tugging at their elders' limbs.
Then someone scratched their arm.
