The quarry floor splintered first. Hairline fractures raced outward from the resonance circle like veins in a dying leaf, each one spilling thin blue light that evaporated before it could touch the walls. Kaelen's breath fogged in the cold air, but the mist vanished as quickly as it formed, swallowed by the growing heat radiating from the stone beneath his knees.
The Elder Script carved into the surrounding pillars began to glow. Not the steady hum of active runes. Something hungrier. The symbols pulsed in uneven rhythms, flickering like candle flames caught in a draft. Their light bled into the dust hanging thick in the air, turning every particle into a drifting ember.
