Adam recounted everything to the manager.
From the moment he learned about the water lily, he explained, he had rushed straight for the center of the swamp, because that was where such a resource would most likely form. But when he arrived, he wasn't alone.
Henry was already there.
Henry and his men.
And Henry had been with a gem.
Before Adam could intervene, Henry detonated it.
The explosion was catastrophic.
It killed Henry and his men instantly and reduced the surrounding area to ruins. And more importantly, it was most likely the trigger that pushed the incursion over the edge, forcibly mutating the rift.
The manager listened to the entire account in silence.
But it was that last detail that made her expression change.
"The explosion," she said slowly, "was what caused the rift to mutate?"
Adam nodded.
