The light vanished.
Kael's body hit solid ground, his knees buckling as he landed in a crouch. The pressure changed instantly. Gone was the primal mist, replaced by an eerie stillness. Not quiet—just contained. Like power waiting to burst free.
He didn't stand right away. His breath was ragged, chest rising and falling in sharp jolts. Every muscle screamed. The Eldritch Reversal had faded, and the price of its surge was now etched into every inch of his flesh.
But it wasn't the pain that held him down, It was the space.
He lifted his head.
A vast stone hall stretched before him. Smooth obsidian tiles formed the floor, each engraved with ancient runes that pulsed faintly—pale blue veins of light threading through them like lifeblood. Dozens of floating orbs hovered near the high ceiling, flickering with spiritual flame.
A platform rose at the far end, covered in interwoven sigils.
And at its center—
