The horn kept echoing long after the sound should've died.Low. Metallic. Too human for a monster's call.
We froze on the ridge, smoke curling around us. The air smelled like burnt iron and old meat.
"Friendly neighborhood welcome committee," I said. "Five stars already."
Nobody laughed.
The plains stretched ahead in warped lines of black glass and ash dunes, glowing faintly under a blood-red sun. Heat shimmered off everything, turning distance into liquid. Far to the north, the orc city flickered like a mirage—spires of obsidian breathing orange through the haze.
We started moving.
Every step left a footprint that glowed before cooling. The ground wasn't solid; it pulsed under the boots, slow and sluggish, like the crust of something still alive. The Guild's probes hadn't lied: this world wasn't terrain—it was tissue.
[Environmental Scan: Mana Saturation → 185 %]
[Hazard: Heat / Toxic Fume Accumulation ↑]
[Recommended Action: Do not breathe too often.]
