Chapter 177: Ascent to the Floating Isles
The heat of the Obsidian Depths was quickly replaced by a biting, thin wind as the Alpha and Omega used the power of the map to teleport toward the eastern horizon. They didn't land on solid ground, but on a massive, drifting piece of rock suspended thousands of feet above the ocean—the first of the Floating Isles.
"The Third Anchor is here, but the air... it's different," the Omega said, struggling to catch her breath. The sky above them wasn't blue anymore; it was a swirling vortex of crimson and violet as the Star-Eaters began their descent into the world's atmosphere.
"They are trying to intercept us before we reach the final node," the Alpha said, pointing toward the highest isle that was hidden behind a permanent storm of lightning.
Suddenly, the ground beneath them tilted violently. From the clouds emerged mechanical, winged beasts—The Void-Hunters. These weren't creatures of shadow or starlight; they were ancient drones built by the First Pack but now corrupted by the Star-Eaters to prevent the shield from ever being completed.
"Wait!" the Ancestor called out, her silver form flickering in the wind. "These hunters respond to movement and sound. If you fight them with brute force, you will only attract the entire swarm. You must use the 'Harmony of the Heights'—a frequency that makes you invisible to their sensors."
But as a Void-Hunter lunged with its razor-sharp talons, they realized that staying quiet was easier said than done. The final race was no longer just about reaching the anchor, but about doing so without being torn apart in the sky.