The golden light spilling through the ancient double doors did not scorch or blind; it felt warm, heavy, and thick with ancient, unrefined mana that smelled like sun-baked granite and ozone. It washed over the ruined hall, bathing the floating marble fragments, the shattered pillars, and the three exhausted women in a serene, amber glow that rendered the dark bloodstains on the floor starkly visible.
Kyle stood near the threshold, his dark coat hanging motionless in the sudden stillness. For the first time since they had breached the Blood Moon Fortress, the persistent, heavy pressure of the plateau's oppressive aura was gone.
