The spear of light reversed its course, but Luminar was fast. He dissolved it into motes of energy before it could strike him. His focus, however, was broken. Everyone's was.
The groaning from the Vault's core became a deafening roar. The cracks widened, and then it shattered.
But it didn't explode. It dissolved. The entire core, the prison that had held back eons of nightmares, vanished into a cloud of black and violet particles. They didn't hang in the air. They shot outwards, phasing through the walls of the Vault, spreading out into the frozen universe beyond.
Some of the particles, drawn to the strongest Aethel presence, swirled around Alistair. They sank into his skin, and his body began to change. His form flickered, becoming less solid, more like a storm given shape. The power radiating from him intensified, becoming something ancient and ravenous. The laughter died in his throat, replaced by a cold, focused silence.
