The swirling vortex of silver and deep-violet light swallowed Shen Xun'er, and she felt as though it dismantled her very soul layer by layer, casting her through an endless, disorienting abyss of silence and weightless freefall.
The sensation of falling lasted for what felt like an eternity, stripping away her sense of time, direction, and spatial orientation until the blinding colors of the ancient temple were entirely extinguished.
GASP!
A sharp, violent intake of air tore through her lungs.
The sudden return of physical sensation hit her like a physical blow.
The air she inhaled was thick, hot, and suffocating, reeking overpoweringly of scorched iron, burning flesh, pulverized mud, and fresh, coppery blood.
At first, there was silence, then, that silence was instantly obliterated by a deafening, earth shattering cacophony of sound.
