Far from the tension-filled chamber, at the three distant sites where the fragments of the Sky Anchor rested, something happened.
It began without warning.
A low tremor ran through the ground beneath each location at the same time. Not a violent quake, but a deep and unnatural shudder that seemed to originate from within the structures themselves rather than the land around them.
The foundations of the sites vibrated with a resonance that did not belong to the natural world.
Then it intensified.
The stone cracked. Dust fell in thin streams from ceilings and carved pillars. The air trembled as the fragments reacted.
Magic surged to every direction in sudden bursts, flaring violently from each core as if something had struck them from beyond perception.
The energy was unstable and wild.
The Sky Anchor fragments in three sites pulsed in unison, their power spiking far beyond their usual state before collapsing back into a strained equilibrium.
