The ground-level complex ceased to exist within the span of a single breath.
What had once been layered stone, reinforced alloy, and ceremonial architecture imploded inward with a deafening roar. Walls buckled. Pillars snapped. Entire sections folded into themselves as if crushed by an invisible fist, collapsing until nothing remained but smoking rubble and jagged, fractured earth.
Shockwaves tore outward across the plains, shattering nearby structures and sending slabs of debris skidding and tumbling in every direction.
Ethan Gabriel and Matt Slade did not slow.
They advanced like twin calamities given form, their movements relentless and precise, clearing a brutal path forward for Rory. Wherever they passed, the land was left scorched, frozen, or pulverized beyond recognition. There was no resistance—only obliteration, swift and absolute.
