The guardian shifts again, and even though it has already moved once, the sheer weight of its body still shocks me. It plants both massive arms against the slab of stone and pushes. Last time it opened only enough for us to see darkness. This time it forces the entire structure aside.
Stone grinds against stone with a sound so deep it vibrates straight through my chest. The floor trembles under my boots. Dust cascades from the ceiling in tiny glittering streams. Felix flinches and covers Ember with one arm until the worst of the shaking passes.
When the stone finally settles in its new position, the echo runs through the chamber like a low roll of thunder that never fully ends. The guardian shifts back into its kneeling position with a grace that feels strange for something so enormous.
