A fourth luminescent data thread ignited across the archive portal an instant before the city alarm bells clanged with deafening ferocity.
The three roads diverged before Hajin could reach every endangered group, forcing him to name each assignment aloud.
The emergency carillon echoed through the subterranean vaults, aborting the elder's ritual gesture before he could lift the porcelain mask from its resting place.
Across the polished flagstones of the registry rotunda, three separate holographic projections ignited simultaneously in vivid, chaotic detail.
The eastern projection displayed the refugee supply wagons sinking into turbulent black floodwaters near the lower sluice gate.
The western projection revealed the grand expedition viaduct fracturing into writhing botanical tendrils above an abyss.
The northern projection showed the mounted patrol detachment completely surrounded by a ravenous horde of shadow-draped predators.
