Aleron stepped forward into the brilliance of a new world. Gone were the blood-soaked stones and fading corpses of the last floor. Before him stretched a glasslike meadow of crystalline grass, each blade catching sunlight and refracting it into rainbows. The wind here smelled of dew and ozone. High above, a golden sun bathed everything in a calm, warm glow.
But peace was a lie.
The silence shattered as the first creature emerged. It looked like a deer, graceful and thin, with long limbs and silken fur that shimmered like glass. But its eyes were hollow voids, and beneath its chest pulsed a core of twisted energy.
The creature's legs bent backward unnaturally, and as it opened its mouth, no sound came—only vibration. The ground beneath its feet cracked with each step.
Dozens more emerged, moving as a herd. The Crystalmourn. Beasts formed from living gemstones and void. As they moved, their bodies resonated with harmonized frequency, making the air around Aleron hum.
