"Move!" Silas screamed, shoving Lyra back toward the marble fountain as a geyser of boiling green acid splashed across the stone floor.The acidic spit hissed furiously against the white marble, eating clean through three inches of solid rock in less than two seconds. The colossal three headed ironwood hound lunged forward out of the shadow, its three sets of wooden jaws snapping with deafening metallic cracks. Its glowing violet eyes locked directly onto Silas's chest as its heavy timber claws tore deep gouges into the terrace pavement."Keep your distance from its jaws!" Marcus yelled, holding his frost-glazed staff out to block the central head.The beast's left head whipped around, its dark snout opening wide to launch another glob of steaming acid straight at Marcus's chest. Marcus raised his staff to deflect the strike, but the moment the green liquid touched the frozen wood, the unmelting ice layer vanished with a sharp, screaming hiss. The acidic spit dissolved the top three i

"If you want to reach that high tower, you will have to step over my corpse first!" Marcus spat, his voice echoing down the grand marble hallway.He dragged his dead left leg forward, gripping the splintered lower half of his frozen staff with a knuckle whitening hold. Blood trickled from a jagged cut across his temple, dripping into his solid black left eye, but he did not blink. Ahead of him stood four massive ironwood legionaries, their dark timber suits glistening with pressurized oil as they raised heavy steam axes in unison."You are a broken cripple, Vance!" the lead legionary shouted, his deep voice muffled behind a brass respiratory mask. "Your airship is destroyed and your shadow shroud is gone! Yield to the dictatorship!""My grandfather might have yielded when his magic ran dry," Marcus growled, balancing his weight on his dead legs through sheer, unyielding stubbornness. "I am not my grandfather."The lead legionary charged, raising his massive steam axe high above his he

"Get your filthy hands off my sister, you bastard!" Silas screamed, his voice shattering the heavy silence of the throne room like a thunderclap.The heavy secret hatch behind the royal throne burst open with a loud, metallic bang. Silas surged out of the dark stone tunnel, his heavy broadsword drawn, with Lyra following right at his heels with her alchemical sprayers held high.The Dictator turned his head slowly, his glowing violet eye shifting away from the edge of the pit where Marcus hung by a single bleeding hand."More flies crawling out of the sewers," the Dictator sneered, raising his half wooden right arm. "You are too late to stop the convergence!""Silas! Lyra!" Marcus gasped, his fingers slipping on the slick, blood stained marble edge of the open vortex. "Watch out for his gravity fields!"Silas did not hesitate. He raised his heavy lever- ction rifle to his shoulder, lining up the brass sights straight with the Dictator's glowing forehead, and pulled the trigger three t

"Your time on this throne ends right now!" Marcus bellowed, his voice carrying the double echo of raw frost and ancient liquid shadow.He propelled his body straight across the high chamber, gliding three feet above the cracked floor on a swirling wave of midnight black shadow and shimmering blue frost. The absolute cold radiating off his form was so intense that the liquid purple fire falling from the open sky froze into glittering violet ice midair before hitting the ground."You think a handful of dark magic makes you a god, boy?!" the Dictator shrieked, his half wooden torso vibrating violently as he raised both arms.The tyrant unleashed a massive wave of compressed gravity, aimed straight at Marcus's chest. But Marcus did not try to block it with a physical staff or shelter behind his arms. With a single flick of his left hand, he bent the surrounding shadow energy into a sharp wedge, slicing clean through the gravity wave like a razor blade cutting silk."The gravity machine ca

"Turn the key all the way to the right, Lyra, do it now!" Silas screamed over the deafening roar of the collapsing portal.Lyra grabbed the ivory bone key with both hands, ignoring the slick crimson blood covering the metal console. She threw her full body weight into the turn, twisting the ancient relic past its final notch until a loud, metallic locking sound echoed through the vibrating brass machinery.CLICK CLACK."The reversal sequence is locked!" Lyra shouted, her hair whipping violently around her face in the rising wind. "The core is sealing itself!"High above the spinning platform, the heavy violet chains holding Clara dissolved into fine dust. Clara's limp body slipped from the air, dropping fast toward the jagged ironwood gears below."I have got you, little sister!" Silas bellowed, lunging forward with his broad arm extended.He caught Clara midair, cradling her against his chest as he rolled across the shaking marble tiles, shielding her body from the falling stone debr