The instant the trio appeared, their eyes sharpened and their bodies moved on instinct. Cold focus replaced disorientation as they fell into battle stances, scanning every direction at once.
Though dizziness and nausea still clouded their minds from the dimensional passage, they could not afford even a heartbeat of weakness. The Third Realm was no place to relax. With their luck, they might have materialized in the middle of a battlefield—or worse, inside an enemy fortress.
But for once, destiny seemed to grant them mercy.
No explosions greeted their arrival. No divine auras clashed in the sky. They had landed upon the quiet shore of a small silver river, surrounded by low grass and towering stone ridges that reflected the faint golden light of the Third Realm's sky.
Still, none of them let their guard down.
