The carriage thundered through the sky like a falling star.
Flames rippled along its frame, the fire horses galloping across the air itself, each step cracking the atmosphere with heat and force. Inside, the hum of spatial sigils kept everything stable—but the pressure of speed was still there, pressing against the bones.
Eryndor moved first.
He stepped to the center of the carriage and lowered himself calmly, folding his legs as he sat cross-legged on the polished floor. His back was straight. His posture was relaxed—but there was something about the way he sat that shifted the air.
Not casual.
Regal.
Like someone who had always belonged at the center.
Darius noticed immediately.
A small smile tugged at his lips as shadows curled lazily at his feet. "Huh," he said. "Looks natural on you."
Stellar caught it too.
She covered her mouth, shoulders trembling slightly, trying—and failing—to hold back her laughter. A soft snort escaped her.
Kaelus glanced over, eyebrow raised. "Damn, Stellar," he said, smirking. "I know you mad happy, but don't be a manic about it."
That did it.
Stellar burst out laughing, crystal clear and unrestrained. "I'm not—!" she tried, then broke again. "I just—look at him! He's sitting like he owns the carriage!"
Rein leaned back against the wall, arms crossed, grinning. "Hey, Stellar," he said casually, "looks like you're enjoying this just as much as I am."
She shot him a look. "Don't lump me in with you."
"Too late," Rein replied. "We're both smiling."
Darius sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as shadows rippled in mild irritation. "Man… can y'all lock in?"
The laughter slowly died down.
He turned toward the front of the carriage, eyes sharpening. "In about two hours, we'll reach the opps."
Kaelus blinked. "The what?"
Darius corrected himself calmly. "The opposition."
Eryndor opened his eyes then, dark irises reflecting faint blue light. He smiled—not amused, not cocky.
Focused.
"Good," he said simply.
Two hours passed in a blur of heat and motion.
Then—
The carriage slowed.
The fire horses screamed again, this time as they descended. Flames curled inward, stabilizing as the carriage broke through a layer of cloud so dense it felt like falling through a veil.
The land revealed itself.
They stepped out together.
Silence greeted them—not peaceful, but heavy.
Before them stretched the Lands of the Dead.
A continent vast enough to swallow kingdoms.
To the west, endless forests sprawled, trees twisted and ancient, their canopies blotting out the sky. To the east, a desert of blackened sand shimmered with heat, bones half-buried beneath the dunes. Farther south, volcanoes rose like open wounds in the earth, rivers of molten fire crawling down their sides. Beyond that, a dark sea churned endlessly, waves crashing against jagged shores.
And at the center of it all—
A tower.
Black and white stone spiraled upward together, entwined like opposing truths, piercing the sky so high its peak vanished into the clouds.
The air around it felt wrong.
Old.
Alive.
Kaelus swallowed. "That's… big."
Stellar's laughter was gone now, replaced by quiet awe. "That tower… it's watching us."
Rein cracked his neck slowly. "Guess we found the problem."
Darius's shadow stretched long toward the tower, reacting on instinct. "That's Atlas territory."
Eryndor stepped forward, storm energy stirring faintly around his feet.
His gaze locked onto the tower.
"Then this," he said calmly, "is where we begin."