Max took a slow, steady breath and released the final grip he had been holding on his body and soul. The moment that restraint vanished, a terrifying surge of power erupted from within him.
Bang.
The ground beneath his feet disintegrated instantly as a colossal wave of energy burst outward, pulverizing sand and stone into nothingness and carving a vast crater into the desert. The shockwave raced across the land like an invisible tide, flattening everything in its path before fading into the horizon.
As this power escaped him, the sky above the entirety of Acaris began to change. The blue heavens darkened as though night had fallen in an instant, and thick black clouds gathered from every direction, spiraling toward a single point directly above Max. Within those clouds, white lightning twisted and writhed like living serpents, filling the air with an oppressive pressure that made the world itself seem to tremble.
