Scene 1: The Storm Wall's Arrival
The air tasted of metal.
Each breath Jemil took was laced with the sting of lightning, a promise that the sky would soon split open. Ahead, the Tower's 37th floor stretched into a wasteland of twisted roots and shattered spires. Above it all loomed the Storm Wall—a swirling vertical cyclone of cloud and lightning that scraped the heavens.
"You weren't exaggerating…" Kaela's voice was barely a whisper. Her golden hair danced in the charged air, strands lifting like the storm was calling to her.
"This isn't even the bad part," Jemil said, tightening his grip on the hilt at his hip. "The vines don't move until they smell blood."
Mirella, ever the optimist, gave a cheerful laugh. "So… let's just make sure it's their blood, not ours."
Lightning struck the ground less than thirty paces ahead. The impact shook the earth and revealed something horrifying—root-like tendrils bursting from the soil, writhing as though they were alive.
