The surface of the ice vibrated like the taut skin of a giant drum. The hand beneath her pressed slowly, as if testing its resistance, as if feeling the heat of Kael's flame and instinctively responding to the stimulus.
Sylphie raised both hands, green mana radiating with urgency.
"Wait… don't let it break yet. If it breaks wrong, the guardian might emerge from the wrong side and—"
CRACK.
A deep crack formed beneath their feet, racing like lightning under the dark ice. Irelia tugged at Kael by the collar, dragging him two steps back.
"Kael, this is the moment when any sensible person retreats a little!"
"I'm not sensible."
"Clearly!"
Amelia raised her staff, tracing swift runes in the air. Each symbol she drew sank into the ice in the form of bluish light, reinforcing the edges of the fissures.
"I'm trying to keep this steady, but this thing is pushing like it wants to be born!"
Sylphie bit her lower lip, assessing the situation quickly.
