Ash appeared in a place that wasn't as city-like.
The home of the Guardian leader was a masterpiece of raw, primal elegance—a sprawling palace carved directly from the living heart of an ancient jungle mountain.
Tall trees of rich emerald and gold stood like grand pillars; their trunks draped in vines laden with luminous blossoms that throbbed gently in time with the realm's heartbeat.
The structure itself was open-air and colossal—wide stone platforms connected by rope bridges of braided silver and obsidian that swayed gently in the humid breeze....
Massive statues of half-naked warrior women stood along the edges—each one twenty stories tall, spears raised triumphantly....
No walls enclosed the central chamber; instead, living vines and shifting mist formed natural barriers that parted only for those deemed worthy, curling back like obedient beasts to reveal the sacred space within.
BANG!
The moment they appeared Ash was thrown onto the ground like a ragdoll.
