Kyle took one step toward the shimmering mirror.
It cracked.
A fine web of light crawled across its surface, reacting violently to his presence. On the other side, Lucia jolted, her eyes widening in visible panic.
She raised her hand. Divine mana exploded from her form like a wave of frost, and the mirror snapped shut with a screech that tore through the empty space around Kyle.
For a moment, everything was still.
Then the fog around him churned.
From the nothingness beyond the broken statues and shattered pathways, the first monster emerged.
It had no face. No form. Just a dense, rolling clump of divine mana shaped vaguely like a beast, its mass pulsing and warping with each breath it took. No eyes. Just malice.
Then came the next. And another. Ten. Fifteen. More.
All of them silent. All of them hungry.
Kyle didn't move. His eyes narrowed, the air around him vibrating as he raised one hand and drew mana into it.
