Chase IV

Serena tightened her grip on Asher. "Tell me we're not just flying blind in here."

Asher didn't respond immediately. He was focused. The mana in the storm was wild, erratic—but not random.

There was a pattern.

A pulse.

Almost like a heartbeat.

Asher's eyes narrowed.

Something was alive in here.

Something huge.

Serena sensed it too. "…You feel that?"

Asher nodded. "We're not alone."

Lightning suddenly exploded across the sky, illuminating the storm's core—

And for a split second, Asher saw it.

A massive, glowing eye staring back at them from the storm's depths.

Serena froze. "Oh, hell no."

The storm shuddered. The air thickened.

And then—

A deep, rumbling voice echoed through the clouds.

"Intruders."

Serena flinched. "Okay, I vote we leave. Immediately."

Asher didn't move. His mind raced.

The storm wasn't just a storm.

It was a sentient entity.