Ethan led the group past the fallen Stone Golem, not wasting time finishing it off.
But after they moved on, the purple aura still trapped inside the golem didn't dissipate.
Smoke seeped out through the cracks in the stone.
It didn't chase after them.
It sank quietly into the ground.
A portal appeared ahead not long after.
There was no clear scene inside it—only darkness… threaded with something strange. The color was close to purplish-red, but the way it flowed was nothing like normal energy.
Phoenix Queen Ignara stepped up to the doorway.
She rubbed her fingertips together, forming a fireball.
Layer after layer of scarlet energy fed into it, the sphere swelling larger and larger. Once the flame stabilized, Ignara lifted her hand and tossed it into the portal.
The fireball passed through.
The red light vanished instantly.
A few seconds later, a muffled thud came from inside the darkness.
A jet-black stone shot out of the portal and landed at their feet.
