Heat devoured everything.
Kain's breath came ragged and uneven inside Aegis' metallic cocoon. The air was molten. His lungs burned with every inhale, each heartbeat pounding like a hammer against his ribs. The metal sphere groaned around them, warping under the crushing pressure from above. Red lines spiderwebbed across Aegis' surface, molten fissures leaking in threads of light.
Serena clung to him, trembling. The air smelled of ozone and scorched metal.
"Hold—" Kain tried to speak, but the word cracked apart in his throat. He could feel Aegis' pain echoing through their link, the golem's consciousness straining to maintain form under the impossible heat. The temperature was rising beyond anything they'd faced. Even though the fire ball was still miles above them and had not yet touched the river, and he was covered by layers of metal, Kain's skin blistered.
