Since the door opened outwards, there was no need to clear away the sand. Turning the doorknob, amidst the sound of metal twisting, Shard exerted considerable effort to push the door open from the deformed frame. The wind-swept yellow sand almost immediately blew in through the gap.
Shard squinted as he sidled through the door, then looked at the devastated Saint Delan Square and the fountain where the statue of a girl holding a water jug was mostly buried by sand.
In the distance, the black sun was surrounded by a red and white halo, and the single red line dripping down from the lower edge of the sun hinted at an unknown significance. The enormous Floating City, surrounded by storm and lightning in the sky, seemed to have shifted position from last time, but here time held no meaning. After all, the damage to Saint Delan Square from the previous two battles now showed no trace.
