The signal had barely been given.
And Verina had already reshaped the battlefield.
A dense, instantaneous, pulse-like explosion of arcane energy erupted from her position, expanding outward in all directions, filling every crevice within the enclosed space of the barrier dome.
It was certainly not an attack. It wasn't a shield.
It was a declaration of control.
The moment the energy touched every air within the barrier dome, the very world inside the battlefield began to shift. The hues of Carcosa's warped sky beneath it bled into something deeper—a redder, richer shade, saturated with an exotic heat that twisted the very nature of this space.
A phenomenon that had never existed before. A new law imposed by sheer arcane force.
And then. above every single combatant's head, glowing golden bars flickered into existence. Five of them, hovering above each entity.
Lupina froze, her tail whipping behind her in startled hesitation.
