Su Qinghan moved first, her decision sharp and immediate. "I'll draw its attention!" She drove her frostblade into the stone floor with force, and a pulse of freezing energy burst outward from the point of impact. The temperature in the room plummeted in an instant, breath turning faintly visible in the air. Ice spread rapidly across the floor in veining patterns, crawling over cracks and broken stone like a living thing.
The Worm reacted at once. It did not see, but it felt. The vibration of her blade striking stone drew it like a signal. Its massive body twisted, turning toward her, and the rotating maw at its front began accelerating again, concentric rings spinning faster and faster as if eager to tear through everything in its path.
Wang Hao saw the moment clearly, the opening forming in real time. While the creature turned, Lin Yi was already moving.
