The desert quaked beneath them as nine auras erupted at once, flaring so brightly they painted the black sky with a rainbow of colors. Essence roared like a storm, streaks of fire, frost, lightning, and shadow weaving together into a breathtaking tapestry. The air itself bent under the weight of their release.
They changed.
Scylla’s hair whipped wildly as it grew longer, igniting into twin flames of red and blue. Her eyes blazed with the same dual fire, two suns of ether that refused to bow. Behind her, a colossal phoenix burst into being, its wings spreading wide in a storm of twilight flames. It loosed a shriek that split the air before folding its fire around her, sculpting armor of crimson-blue flame that clung to her form. She stood armored, radiant and deadly, her every breath exha
