---
Jack's vision blurred as if the world around him were dissolving into mist. His legs felt like they had been carved from stone, his every step a struggle against an invisible weight. He shuffled behind Alisha, his breaths shallow and labored, each one a battle to draw enough air into his lungs.
The oppressive atmosphere of the planes weighed heavily on him, each passing moment sapping his strength. The air here carried an unnatural stillness, thick and suffocating. Shadows twisted and stretched across the barren wasteland, their shapes uncanny and foreboding, as though unseen eyes watched their every move.
Then his body gave in.
Jack collapsed with a sickening thud, dust rising in a small plume around him. The sound was as heavy as the silence that followed.
'Is the lack of soul essence supposed to hit this hard?' he thought bitterly, his body refusing to cooperate. His head lolled against the cold ground, his thoughts a whirlwind of frustration and fatigue.
