The breach did not widen like the others.
It tore.
The thin vertical corridor split outward in jagged lines, like glass cracking under invisible pressure. The containment field flared violently. Several runic stones shattered outright, fragments skidding across the clearing.
Kael moved instantly, positioning himself between the rupture and Sarya.
Sereth did not retreat.
It turned fully toward the expanding tear, blue eyes blazing brighter than before.
"This is external pressure," Sereth said sharply. "Not initiated by our realm."
The air thickened.
Not hot like the first forest breach.
Not cold like the diplomatic crossings.
This felt dense.
Heavy.
As though gravity itself had shifted.
Sarya felt the mark on her palm surge with pain. She dropped to one knee, pressing her hand into the soil as energy pulsed through her arm.
Hollen's voice crackled through her communicator.
"Global spike detected. This is not localized. I repeat, not localized."
