Crack… crack…
Above him, the sky began to ripple, compress, then fracture with a sound that echoed like the groaning of a dying world. Jagged rifts spread across the skies, each one stretching the length of an entire mountain range. From every rift poured a dense, radiant gray light—an oppressive force that smothered the atmosphere and pushed the very ground downward, as if trying to crush the planet under its weight.
Robin stumbled backward, one step, two, heart pounding. His breath hitched in his throat. His lips trembled, trying to form words that wouldn't come.
"AAAA…AA... AAAA…"
"AAAAAHHHHH!!"
A chorus of screams erupted. The guests of the coronation—nobles, citizens, servants—all those who had only just begun to leave the grandstands and flood into the streets—froze like statues as they turned their gazes upward. The sight of the sky breaking was more than shocking—it was devastating.
