The moment the elder's voice trembled with the words "a one-armed man…", the air around them changed.
A low hum rippled through the ground. Then —
CRACK.
The soil split. Shadows poured like black water, thick and seething and from it, thousands of Voidborn began to crawl forth.
Their forms were warped arms too long, eyes that flickered like dying candles, their cries layered in whispers that spoke of hunger, envy, and despair.
Erun stumbled back, his cane shaking. "No… not again…"
Juno immediately drew his stance, Shinrei-less energy coiling through his veins like lightning beneath the skin.
"Ceyla! Take the right flank!"
"On it!"
Khael's crimson Shinrei erupted a dragon's roar echoing in the air as translucent scales shimmered across his arm.
"Andromeda, Matthew! Protect the villagers!"
"Right!" Andromeda barked, summoning his Echo Art — "Resonance Wall!" A barrier of rippling sound energy expanded outward.
