A wave of energy surged forward as Mallory stepped through the Forgotten Gate, the golden light consuming everything in its path. For a moment, she felt weightless—adrift in an endless void, the fabric of reality shifting around her.
Then, the world snapped back into place.
She staggered forward, her boots hitting solid ground. The air was thick with a strange, almost metallic scent, and a cold wind brushed against her skin. As her vision adjusted, she took in their new surroundings.
They stood on a vast stone platform suspended in an abyss, surrounded by towering spires of black rock. The sky above was a swirling mixture of deep blues and purples, streaked with lightning that never quite struck the ground.
Behind her, the Forgotten Gate loomed, its surface still shimmering with golden light. But something was different—where once it had been open, it was now sealed shut.