The moment Liora lost control, the world didn't explode.
It collapsed inward first.
The air twisted violently around her, folding in unnatural angles as the silver light that once obeyed her began to distort into something sharper, denser, and far more dangerous. The ground beneath her feet cracked—not from impact, but from pressure, like reality itself was being forced to hold something it was never meant to contain.
"…No—"
Her voice barely came out.
Because it wasn't just power anymore.
It was something waking up.
Cairis felt it instantly.
Not as magic.
Not as energy.
But as presence.
His eyes darkened sharply.
"…Liora."
He moved—
But stopped.
Not by force.
By instinct.
Because stepping into that—
Would be a mistake.
A fatal one.
The Voidbound Hunters didn't move either.
For the first time—
They were completely still.
Watching.
Not attacking.
Not interfering.
Just observing.
