Heart hammering against his ribs, Ren threw his mana perception wide open and shoved his awareness straight through the woody, rocky and metallic shell of the dome, frantically sweeping the dark interior for the missing prisoner.
Half a second later, he found it.
The beast had not gone anywhere… The colossal half mechanical dragon was still sitting right in the dead center of the five-point star array, coiled and motionless in the dark.
It had not breached the wall.
Ren let out the breath he had been holding in his throat, though the wave of relief lasted for one single second before evaporating.
Because the moment his perception brushed against the entity's mana signature, he understood why the digging had stopped.
The ancient parasite had not given up on its escape, nor had its mechanical limbs broken down from wear and tear.
It was pooling energy.
