Rumble…
CRACK!
Just then, from the deepest recesses of the world tunnels, a terrifying, grinding collapse began.
Orion, the Sea-Drake King, and the Saint of the Order of Man all snapped their heads toward the sound. In the distance, the tunnel was dissolving into a brilliant, indescribable vortex of multicolored light.
"Hurry! The world tunnels are collapsing!" A voice, crisp and clear but of an indeterminate age and gender, cried out from the chaos ahead.
In a fleeting glimpse, Orion saw a mermaid with a seven-colored tail swimming toward them at incredible speed, a streak of living rainbow fleeing the encroaching destruction.
"What?"
"They're collapsing?"
Orion didn't have time to think. The raw panic in the voices of the King and the Saint was all the confirmation he needed. Without a word, without a moment's hesitation, he launched himself forward, a blur of motion aimed at the tunnel's exit.