Aubrelle opened her mouth—
CRAAASH!
The wall behind them exploded inward.
Stone, snow, and shattered wood blasted through the hall as a gigantic Void creature—a hulking brute with bone-plated limbs—smashed into the room like a meteor.
"PROTECT THEM!" someone shouted.
Too late.
The shockwave threw everyone.
Aubrelle felt the floor disappear beneath her feet.
"Aubrelle!" Evelyne's voice ripped through the chaos.
A violent gust of corrupted mana hit them—
lifting the eight-year-old off her feet, hurling her into the air—
—and Evelyne leapt, catching her mid-flight.
A burst of radiant light flashed below them as the small luminant stag Evelyne had summoned earlier reappeared, cushioning their fall. They hit the ground hard—but alive.
Aubrelle gasped, clinging to her mother.
The stag dissolved instantly, spent.
They slid across the corridor stones, away from the hall—
away from everyone else.
Behind them, the sounds were overwhelming:
