The moment Sage's shout echoed through the treasury, the entire Adventurer Guild moved as if death itself had reached for their backs.
Nobody asked questions, nobody looked at the empty space where the treasure mountains had vanished, and nobody wasted even a single breath complaining about the untouched bubbles still drifting far above them like silent temptations mocking their retreat.
Gregor grabbed Lyana's wrist and pulled her forward before she could stumble, Brutus lifted one injured adventurer under his arm like a sack of grain, Caelis forced the slower members into motion despite his own exhaustion, and Boren, whose round face had turned as pale as flour, ran with an energy nobody knew he still possessed.
Mina clung tightly to Sage with one hand while the other refused to release the bulging pouch of gold coins she had personally saved from the vanished treasure pile, her cheeks puffed with stubborn grief even as fear sharpened her eyes.
