The runes didn't just hang in the air, they began to move. Slowly at first, drifting toward each other, then faster as if pulled by some invisible force. The black haze thickened, coiling around them like snakes on a vine.
And then, with a deep, resonant hum, the three runes slammed together.
The world seemed to ripple. Essence bent in ways I couldn't explain, and before my eyes a swirling portal tore itself open in the space where Saturn had fallen. Its edges bled black mist, pouring out in long streams that spread on the ground like poisonous fog.
The portal spun wider, its edges jagged, as if the world didn't want it here. Beyond it, there was no light, only a void.
The mist surged again, and then—
Something moved inside the void.
