As he spoke, a series of images flashed through his eyes.
Before the words had even faded, the throne beneath him shattered.
His figure vanished completely, leaving only an echo reverberating through the vast, empty hall.
...
At that same moment in Black Stone City, the ground split open.
A beam of black light shot toward the heavens.
Above, endless dark clouds converged like a surging tide.
The clouds piled layer upon layer, seemingly without end, gradually forming a deep, pitch-black vortex.
The vortex resembled a bottomless black hole.
"Die!"
A voice like rolling thunder echoed across the sky.
Before the sound had faded, a massive, pitch-black, scale-covered claw emerged from the vortex.
The claw was immense, like a pillar holding up the sky, and it descended with unstoppable, cataclysmic force.
Wherever the giant claw passed, the compressed air erupted in a series of sonic booms, as if it could not bear the strain.
