It all started with an explosion. She jumped awake and fell out of her cot. Screams in the distance reached her ears. She spun around, and her caramel-skinned mother with braids of white hair pulled her to her feet. She tried to question her mother but couldn't utter a word as she was ushered, along with the rest of her siblings.

Cipher's moment of fear cost her as Mac Quickstepped, ramming a straight leg into Cipher's guard, sending her crashing into a tree.

As he strolled, he was startled by the sudden opening of a towering golden door.

The evening began to darken, and the winds began to rise as Clifford, Horace, Cipher, Ooga, and Clifford's brumaire approached the northmost hill of Pain's Lair.

They moved swiftly through the trees, skipping from branch to branch and back forth to silently relay information. A cold, unusual chill engulfed Jetta, and she caught a branch. She raised a fist, and three other vampires landed on the branches behind her.

Abi was busy in the holding cells beneath Dagon City, preparing to force her way into the minds of Bora and Chambers.

Pain was stunned with disbelief. His eyes took in Nine's demonic detail—his red eyes, his familiar kinan-like face, his mouth of sharp teeth, his feet ending with three thick clawed toes, and the patch of white fur on his chest.

Locness' sobbing intensified. A rippling wave of raging purple mana followed after, and Joshua grimaced in pain. The bare skin on his face singed from the heat, and his eyes glowed a soft hue as he struggled to bring forth Willpower—but the realms of Limbo sapped it away.

Abi flowed into their memories. She was overwhelmed by their fear. They were afraid of her and the young master. But they feared Lich the most. She saw how powerful he was, effortlessly controlling the elements, and he had a keen grasp of Telekinesis

Inside the Guardian's Training room, she scurried through the dark space, quickly illuminating the Lesser Lighting Crystals along the walls and those bound to the pillars. She then retrieved a wooden sword from the bucket and placed her metal sword down. She finally squared up against the stuffed dummy and swung.

From the outside in, it was like looking at a wall of ravaging winds and snow. Within the whipping walls of ice, snow, and wind, a horde of crystal-like specks lumbered toward the center. Among the group, even the recently dead were changed and walking among them.

In Ristau's quarters during a brisk night, Ristau sat with his legs crossed and drank tea with a brooding Beka. Rather, Ristau drank in the warmly lit room on his own while Beka sat across from him with his arms crossed.

A violent rustle filled the void, and furniture was broken. The third voice still attempted to halt the fighting, but to no avail. The sound of fist hitting jaw rang out—cursing—gut blows—slapping—grunting—yelling—and then finally, a body shattered through the wooden boards, blocking out the moonlight.

The one leading slowed, his Danger Sense tingled, and a unique scent hung in the air. They all sensed the mana spreading through the snow and Leapt into the air just as the snow formed into dense hands in an attempt to grab at them.

Along the dirt roads, Mage adventurers formed blobs of Water to quench the spreading fire. Warders, dressed in notable red robes, forced their way into burning homes to save women and children trapped inside. Gents frantically drew buckets of water from the well and passed them down an efficient line to douse nearby houses.

In a rich, red-velvet oval room, Fire King Solo sat in a high metal chair. He sat comfortably in red, orange, and white robes decorated with ruby puries. He wore a gold chain adorned with ruby and amber puries around his neck, and his hands were also cluttered with ruby jewelry.

Repeatedly, Emily practiced. She would even revert to conjuring simple shapes of solid fire. But she needed to test its durability, but Mac was already bored and asleep. Out of growing frustration, she eyed Ristau,

Joshua, bundled in a black winter coat over his armor, had just exited a pub and stomped through the snow. He swayed slightly as he smiled warningly at the weapon and armor shops he passed by. He caught wind of the Judges and eyed them in disgust.

Meanwhile, among a few lopsided homes near the northeast corner of Dagon City, a bundle of kinans funneled into a slightly lopsided inn.

Near the gable, atop a rich dollhouse-style home, Mac sat on her lonesome and was using her Lesser Eagle Eye to stare at something to her right.