Her Arrival

Daemon stood, dusting himself off as his eyes adjusted to the dim, eerie light. They had fallen into a cavern massive, silent, ancient. The air was heavy with mana, older and denser than anything above. It pressed against the skin like a warning... or a welcome.

A wide underground lake stretched across the center of the chamber. The surface of the water was unnaturally still, as if untouched by time. In the middle, sitting alone on a circular island of stone, was a massive shape.

A rock.

Or so it seemed at first.

The structure was broad, rounded, and jagged with age. Moss clung to its surface, glowing faintly green. A thin stone path led from the edge of the cavern to the platform, cracked and half-submerged in places.

Daemon stared, eyes narrowing.

"That's... not just a rock," he said.

Varian stood beside him, squinting. "Looks like one. A really big one."

"No. Look closer."