Kai's breath quickened without him realizing it.
His eyes behind the mask took in the entire landscape slowly, processing everything he could see, as it was completely different from what he had in mind. In fact, it did not resemble what he had in mind at all.
Mallory's domain was neither a desolate flatland nor a swirling cloud of darkness.
Instead, it was a mountainous, rocky terrain as far as the eyes could see.
But not mountains of earth and stone.
Everything was made of glistening obsidian-like material that was charged with the night.
Beneath his feet, the ground cracked. Not crumble or weather—but shattered. The edges of the terrain didn't break into pebbles or dust, but broke into thin, glistening layers that caught the moonlight and reflected it back in muted silver.
Cracks spread across the surface like veins of the world.
And within those cracks, a muted gold shimmered and pulsated like they were alive.
