The Weight of Unknown Fear
Far above the battlefield, Ruby slowly opened her eyes. It felt as though a lead weight was on her eyelids, as if her entire body was encased in iron chains.
Her muscles screamed in agony.
She had pushed herself to the very limits of the blessing of the Dragon War Goddess Kia. Her body was broken and wounded in dozens of places, and the pain was drilling through her skull with every heartbeat. Blood soaked through her clothes, and her breaths were shallow and uneven, the air scratching at her lungs.
Natalia pressed down on her shoulder with one arm, the other holding Ruby up as she knelt on the ground, gazing up at the sky.
They said nothing.
There was no need to.
They both felt it.
The oppressive power pressing down upon the battlefield, rolling over it like an endless sea. It was suffocating, chocking the air from one's lungs, so mighty that it made one's bones turn to jelly.
