Cel's breath caught.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWHO5wP5ngw
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡonfbt7iINL
The rift pulsed perhaps a hundred steps from the base of the city wall - a vertical slash in reality that bled violet light. And through it, they came.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXWGM8NHURP
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSjGh5ufsZb
Creatures poured out in a tide of teeth and too many limbs. Hound-like things with spines instead of fur. Insects the size of horses with mandibles that clicked like shears. Something massive and slug-shaped that left a trail of smoking earth. The horde charged the walls without hesitation - pure hunger given form. 8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQD43pbfORc
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOX5b1XJ6R5
Above, chaos erupted.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXrCvF9Orhf
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCtWSo78Mgo
"RIFT! A RIFT AT THE EASTERN WALL!"8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6BDKrbRULL
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrJrjwix5wT
The bell tower rang in frantic peals. Soldiers scrambled across the ramparts - some rushing to the edge, others sprinting for arrow crates. An officer was screaming orders that no one seemed to hear over their own panic.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyWseRhZlbt
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡavoBCroWIh
"Get the fucking archers in position!"8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTpqb6B7LlF
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlNtcwuZ6Ik
"Where are the Chosen?"8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7RXrreqS62
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1mYTi6v5R4
"Someone get word to—"8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbPtWFZCHlY
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxvVS8hbYbP
Arrows began to fall. A scattered volley at first, then more organized as the archers found their rhythm. Most bounced off thick hides or buried themselves in flesh that didn't seem to notice. A few creatures went down. Not enough. Not enough by far.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQJfSP7lhkA
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5aKoKZIdJu
The horde didn't slow.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgX1ZHlHIpB
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYJos31pjr6
Cel was on his feet before he realized he'd moved. Cinderward wrapped around him - gray fabric and leather settling like a second skin. Silent Moon formed in his hand, the straight blade catching moonlight along its violet-dark steel. 8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAvDgdDrwv4
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Kbs0BKWAF
His heart hammered against his ribs. The rift. The creatures. The wall. He was calculating distances, estimating numbers, trying to remember every combat drill—8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN1X0SueGB8
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm1slp8lvD5
"Relax."8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4DrOI9NYCi
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRwxvg9mYwm
Esrin's voice cut through the rising panic.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9SJoGsLveB
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWe1dvzoHwC
She hadn't moved from where she stood. Hadn't even summoned her weapon. She looked at him with those ruby-red eyes, and something in her expression made his artifacts feel suddenly ridiculous. 8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm6cfyv5rmI
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyO4QaRUiRR
"I didn't bring you here to feed you to them," she said simply. "Pay attention and watch."8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg7sjc9dqzS
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDxGZO5Vfyz
"Watch?" Cel's voice cracked.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhLjO1Sj49G
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3TyEm3WCDE
"I'm going to show you my world." 8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQPA1NXYegY
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJW6PVLyf8y
His stomach dropped. He remembered her warning from class - that most students would be torn apart by the sheer pressure of her world before she even finished manifesting it. 8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYCylBlRypw
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJw2f5VOqNv
"Wait—" He took a step back. "Wait, I can't—"8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAPbbMLUTSz
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjE4RMUK8n3
She wasn't listening.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWHBFjOUka2
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhqN8Ufg3PZ
Esrin's wings - those perfect, impossible manifestations of white feathers and light - spread wide. They stretched to their full span, each feather blazing with brilliance that made Cel's eyes water. Her hands came together before her chest, fingers interlacing, head bowing as if she were kneeling before some unseen altar. 8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8boLAJaye9
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ql5O23lf7
The air changed.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuTNqVVRMiE
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqs5xNwxN0W
"By the Storm Goddess’s drepedation, take what I have left—8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrJT52lkdXM
The grief that burns, the rage bereft,8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuW6qSONob1
The hollow heart that will not know."8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyrHSKO4PVx
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWTHwULojLM
Space around her began to open. Not breaking - expanding. Like reality was inhaling, drawing breath for the first time. Hairline threads of light and shadow spiraled outward from her position, weaving, building, creating.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7nkASdjLsJ
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYzjmtrL3UA
"I am the storm that will not cease, 8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiHeeG8mwZH
I am the sky beyond all saving, 8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhkQzgijI3m
I am the lightning's final cry— 8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJHNdxyXnuV
Now, let this world know ruin." 8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgcAs9RYHHM
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEVG3C9uWo4
Black-white lightning erupted.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp8QBhkzVkq
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQsPfGdtitQ
Not from the sky. From her. It spiraled outward in violent helixes, and where it touched, the world changed. Space folded. Dimensions shifted. The lightning wasn't destroying - it was writing, inscribing her will into existence itself.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT1ebgAuB7n
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS1x0dR5jXr
The pressure became crushing.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLwnRgWp6vy
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi84JiCEjdD
He couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. His vision blurred at the edges. Something hot filled his mouth—8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡloxMmlG1n4
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ZAmyIBQC1
"World Creation."8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3yX5xb55RJ
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCuUrUwF5FY
Reality bloomed.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjge9F0yh77
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkgJfe0sblP
It burst outward from Esrin like a shockwave of existence - not destroying what was there but overlaying it, calling forth a new space that swallowed everything in its radius. The ground beneath Celvian's feet transformed, black and white marble flowing into being like liquid solidifying.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRnHURpYcaE
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFB5GNc1MLb
Cel staggered, falling to one knee. The marble was solid beneath him but he didn't trust it, couldn't trust it.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpFvigmyJ57
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1n4QiWGP6C
The platform materialized around them - black marble bleeding into white, white shattering into black, the pattern chaotic and violent. Deep fissures carved themselves between segments, and within those cracks, lightning pulsed to life.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFVgDm3tQn0
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZjJK8QuZ3u
Ten massive columns erupted from the platform's edges with a sound like reality being torn in half. And then they exploded. Each one shattered at different heights, their fragments hanging in the air - suspended, rotating, drifting in defiance of every law Cel had ever learned. Some pieces spun lazily. Others hung perfectly still. An orbital field of destruction, frozen mid-blast.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrMrnoXHYBo
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡecSxj1Afmq
Storm clouds exploded outward and upward, forming a perfect cylinder around them. Black-white lightning arced through the churning darkness in constant, violent arcs, illuminating shapes that emerged from nothing - ruined buildings, collapsed towers, broken temples. A city being born and destroyed in the same instant.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQG8xnKwsib
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxMuaZU2Gn6
Above, the sky cracked into existence - a dome of fractured space, each break blazing with electricity.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyv4MgVZefF
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0J1FQZCW86
"Throne of the Shattered Sky."8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMXZAk56ZYk
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWTkHqO6c3u
At the platform's exact center, Esrin stood with wings spread wide, hands still clasped, head bowed. Black-white lightning crowned her like broken divinity.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoUfJluaBat
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpkEItu8Z6W
Thunder rolled through Celvian's bones. His chest heaved, trying to pull in air that felt too thick, too heavy, too real.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ZTSNLgwFx
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmEDVCtc47i
Around them, the creatures of the horde stumbled. Several simply... weren't anymore. The weaker ones had ceased existing, unable to withstand the pressure. Those that remained shrieked - pain, confusion or rage, it didn't matter.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhSBiEEbLbT
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ8ElL4Qljp
Celvian forced his head up, taking in the impossible space. The floating ruins. The storm-entombed ruins. The fractured sky.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyVRt50qaZ5
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqxuDGiLjaB
A surviving creature - something with too many legs and a mouth that split its torso - finally processed where it was. It screamed and charged.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbUYgnAIbTr
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ32aCYEa21Y
Not at Celvian.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs1BcpuOUGy
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVXqcD7Cqrb
At Esrin.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzdaso7uUJX
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT87ynDQ33J
The others followed, a diminished horde but still deadly. Claws, teeth and hunger, all focused on the creator of this world.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ86EqRtOBR9
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1qZjYQGMrK
Celvian glanced at her, uncertain. Should he move? Fight? Was that even needed?8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡukccS5Dk8E
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf0q5A7AnKO
Esrin's wings dissolved, folding back into nothing with a whisper of lightning. She stood there, hands still clasped loosely before her, watching the charging creatures with no particular expression. Like she was observing rain. Or dust settling. Something mundane and beneath notice.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi8SE4WrI6Y
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVVR1bjz8MU
Then, her hand rose. Slowly. Deliberately.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCnuc0cSYPS
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl4J2QRHhqp
In the storm clouds above, lightning responded.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ42Xv4gRjYi
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhPXu8JdYFy
It gathered. Coiled. Dozens of separate arcs converging, pooling, growing brighter and brighter as they twisted together. The sound built - a rising whine like metal screaming, overlaid with thunder that made Cel's skull ache.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhlsj4dMT5c
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9lPnxF9M1z
The creatures were twenty steps away. Fifteen. Claws extended. Jaws gaped.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwFz4DYt1Uh
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPujeembDbn
Esrin's fingers came together.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqxuW7hsLDb
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW8AchHvjuI
Snap.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9NQmZn0gKk
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXb1Pu29jNI
Lightning fell in an instant.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVciqLC32Sw
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAhoZ0aOYTP
No warning. No buildup. One moment the clouds held their charge. The next, black-white bolts erupted downward in a forest of destruction. 8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgautEXW7un
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkFSqQQExLA
The creatures didn't scream. Didn't have time to. One moment they were charging, the next they were simply gone.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyt3rmkUkuz
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhXKyjKbetQ
Bodies torn apart. Flesh vaporized. Chitin shattered into powder. The lightning didn't just kill - it erased, ripping through matter with such violence that there was no blood, no remains, no evidence except scorch marks burned into the black and white marble.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKcwpKTLkP0
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkLC4jynPO8
The thunder that followed shook the platform.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiTXB0gWGtP
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGX6DyF6Eid
Cel stood frozen, weapons still raised, staring at the empty space where a hundred creatures had been half a heartbeat ago. 8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaQodtt0zvM
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwuEzIr0S5e
Esrin lowered her hand.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRgSdPN0XYe
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOrdc6vOGHp
"That," she said quietly, her voice somehow carrying through the rumbling thunder, "is what a World Creation can do."8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Scqb226sz
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZCi9eJniTf
Celvian stared at the scorched marble. At the ash. At the woman who had just erased dozens of monsters with less effort than swatting flies.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdsswi6PjM3
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRUAOLx63ns
She turned to look at him, ruby eyes reflecting the fractured sky above.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiocw7He8bN
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEC0CMWsbp9
"Any questions?"8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7vuSMHQf4H
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDsieODyH7F
Cel shook his head mutely.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzGmoUwegLy
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQNYJCXR5or
She raised her hand again - a different gesture this time. Palm open, fingers spread, as if releasing something held.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRK089kNxst
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJLRBQhlXNk
The world exhaled.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLSRYEIFfHw
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1VmtigFpw5
It didn't shatter or explode. It simply... receded. The storm clouds pulled inward, condensing back toward Esrin's position. The pillars and their floating debris dissolved like mist under morning sun. The fractured sky sealed itself, cracks zipping closed with soft whispers of thunder.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAaro4XwkxI
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqQ9fcaZmHu
The marble beneath Celvian's feet faded, reality reasserting itself - grass and dirt and stone returning as if they'd never left.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdTZ5H3q0bL
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu6n04a0KUl
In seconds, the World was gone.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡveIpifNCKc
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEjuZYpqllQ
They stood in the field again. Moonlight washing over them. City walls rising. Rift pulsing with energy.1234 copyright protection4ＰＥＮＡＮＡKiqQhOKyts 尼

216.73.217.22