The stench of decay was now mixed with the sharp tang of ozone and burning Qi.
Above him, the city itself was beginning to shake. A low, continuous rumble, a deep tremor, vibrated through the ground. Distant screams echoed through the sewer pipes, sounds of panic and confusion.
He scrambled back through the old market district, his heart, or what remained of it, thrumming with a dark, exhilarating sense of accomplishment. The buildings swayed, stone dust raining down from ancient eaves. Shop signs clattered. Citizens, roused from their sleep, stumbled out into the streets, their faces etched with confusion and fear.
They looked up at the sky.
Xiaochen did too. He emerged onto a wide thoroughfare, still obscured by shadows, and looked up at the sky above Eldoria.
It was no longer the p
