The impact between the two presences was not accompanied by sound—not in the usual sense. There was no bang, no audible explosion. What spread was something deeper, more visceral, like a distortion in the very perception of space. The entire hall seemed to bend for a brief instant, as if reality had been pushed beyond what it was designed to withstand.
Kael's energy advanced first.
Not like an uncontrolled wave, but like a directed force, precise, overwhelming in its intent. There was no waste. There was no excess. Every fragment of that presence seemed to know exactly where it needed to be, as if obeying a logic that transcended any conventional magical system.
The woman's shadows reacted.
They did not retreat.
They expanded.
