The deep thermal vents of the Outer Abyssal Reefs pulsed with a steady, rhythmic heat, casting long, violet-tinted shadows across the newly constructed stone arches of the lower sanctuary. Water, heavy with natural mineral salts, washed over the outer basalt barriers, creating an impenetrable sonar wall that deadened any incoming magic traces from the surface world.
Inside the royal sanctuary's central hall, the atmosphere was thick with quiet focus.
Kyle sat cross-legged atop a flat basalt slab, his upper body bare except for the faint, crisscrossing scars left behind by Sir Gareth's solar light and the recent mana-integration with Elara. Dark, wispy tendrils of shadow mana drifted lazily around his arms, expanding and contracting in rhythm with his breathing.
