[VOLUME 16: THE FIRES OF GENESIS][ARC 1: THE ASHEN WAR]
The Flaming Mountains did not just burn; they breathed.
Standing at the base of the towering, apocalyptic range, Elara Vance felt the heat not as a temperature, but as a physical, crushing weight. The peaks stretched infinitely into the bruised sky of Pangea, entirely engulfed in roaring, primeval fire that shifted from blinding white to a sickly, corrupted crimson.
There was no smoke. There was no ash. There was only the deafening, eternal roar of a world being consumed.
"The ambient mana here is nonexistent," Li murmured, his usually flawless voice tight with strain. The Heavenly Emperor stepped in front of Elara, his pristine white robes whipping in the violent thermal updrafts. "The fire... it is a primeval sink. It is actively devouring the magical atmosphere."
