The Sperrgebiet wasn't just a desert anymore, it was a graveyard of physics.
Rin watched a scorpion scuttle across the sand, freeze, stretch into an infinite line of pixels, and then snap back into existence ten feet away. The sky was a bruised purple that throbbed in time with the headache behind his eyes, and the wind didn't blow so much as it buffered, hitting them in gusts of hot static.
"We need wheels," Nyx said, kicking a rock that fell upwards. "Walking to the coast will take weeks, and Leo is leaking."
Leo was walking in the middle of the formation, his outline blurry. The shadow mana holding him together was fraying at the edges, dissipating into black smoke that trailed behind him like exhaust.
"I'm fine," Leo lied, his voice sounding like it was coming from a bad speaker connection.
"You're running at 30% opacity," Joy noted. "You're literally fading."
Echo stopped, raising his cane. "Engine noise. Three klicks north. Heavy diesel."
