Trrrrrr!
A violent vibration tore through the Empire, far stronger than before. The ground convulsed viciously as people lost their footing.
At the centre of the spider-webbed destruction, the massive bud shuddered violently, cracks pulsing around it as its surface trembled.
And then—
BOOM!
The bud grew!
It did not simply grow.
It exploded outward, swelling violently as though something ancient and furious had finally broken free.
The cracked ground beneath the bud could no longer hold itself together, collapsing inward as massive chunks of stone, soil, shattered roots, and splintered platforms began to fall like rain into the abyss below.
"NOOOOOO!!!!!"
The mother's scream ripped through the chaos as she watched the ground beneath her giggling child shatter into pieces.
The baby slipped, his tiny body tumbling as debris collapsed around him.
