The eye blinked.
And reality lurched.
A pressure slammed into the basin, bending light, sound, and space itself. The shadows convulsed as if pulled by invisible strings, their forms stretching toward the opened crystal like smoke being inhaled by something far larger than itself.
Luca staggered back a step, teeth gritted.
"Everyone—don't look at it directly!" he shouted.
Too late.
Kyle's vision swam as the world tilted sideways. For a split second, he saw himself standing in three places at once. He snarled and slammed the butt of his spear into the ground, grounding himself through sheer instinct.
Sylthara dropped to one knee, daggers digging into stone as her ears flattened against her head. "This thing… it's messing with perception!"
Aurelia raised her spear, flames roaring to life—not outward, but inward, wrapping tightly around the weapon instead of exploding. Her eyes burned with focus.
"Then we can't fight it like a beast," she said. "We will have break its anchor."
