Lucien and the four women did not delay for long.
Once preparations were complete, they departed through the Covenant of Pathless Sovereignty.
When the leap ended, they stood upon the Middle Continent.
The place that greeted them was not gentle.
Heat rose from the ground in visible waves. Black stone stretched across the landscape in cracked shelves. Farther ahead, jagged volcanic ridges clawed toward the sky, and rivers of molten rock moved between them like wounds that refused to cool.
The air tasted of ash, mineral, old fire, and pressure.
Lucien studied the volcanic region before them.
The system's coordinates pointed deeper.
"Let's move," he said.
They advanced quickly.
The deeper they went, the more intense the elements became.
The four women grew quieter.
Even Marie stopped making side comments.
Soon, they reached a formation half-buried beneath a ring of basalt cliffs.
At first glance, it looked like a collapsed shrine.
