Boom.
The sky cracked open with a roar, shaking the foundations of the earth. The air quaked as thunder rolled like an angry god beating a war drum. The atmosphere grew heavy—so heavy, it felt like the pressure could crush bones and shatter organs. Bolts of lightning streaked across the clouds like divine spears, falling in relentless waves.
Two figures—Gilded Blaze and Vogemoth—staggered backward, their beastkin instincts flaring. Even at War God-rank strength, the sight above terrified them. As beast-folk, they feared heavenly lightning. It was a deep-seated terror, woven into their bloodline.
"Is… someone going through an Elysium Ascension?" they both thought, nearly in unison.
They had only recently advanced to War God-rank themselves, and the memory of their own tribulation was still raw. But now, seeing this overwhelming storm erupt without warning, they forgot the earlier battle, forgot the explosion, forgot everything—except their instinct to survive.
