Crown of Scorching Ruin

The masked omnimancer's spell neared completion, threads of flame and darkness winding tight around him. The core hovered near his chest, pulsing like a second heart.

He never saw it coming.

A sword tore through the forming spell from above, punching a hole straight through the incantation's ring. The structure faltered, then collapsed in a sudden pulse. Flame rushed out, runes cracked, and pressure rippled across the stone. Glyphs along the floor flared once, then died.

From the smoke, something moved.

Not the wall.

What they had taken for a dead artifact, a relic tucked into the architecture, stepped forward.

One of the intruders stumbled back, foot skidding on loose stone, hands lifting before thought could catch up.

Beli emerged.