Ethan halted mid-step, hovering just above the surface of the blue-violet magma.
The power rising from the depths below slithered up his spine like a cold, skeletal hand. Instinctively, he took a step back.
He summoned his system interface. A translucent screen flickered to life before his eyes, peeling back the layers of energy in the surrounding area, scanning them one by one.
—This wasn't just any Inversion Zone.
He braced himself, ready for a fight.
But then Kaelira moved.
She shivered, just slightly, as if something ancient had brushed against her soul. Then, slowly, she began to walk forward.
"Kaelira?" Ethan's brow furrowed. A sharp edge of unease cut through his gut.
And then—
