Oooooomnn—
The golden scale emerged from the vortex that was devouring the sky over half the planet and descended with a terrifying calmness and dignity, as though it was not traversing the distance between heaven and earth at all, but rather imposing its existence upon reality itself step by step.
An immense pressure settled upon the hearts and minds of every being present, whether human or beast, until even the air seemed to have become too heavy to breathe, and even the act of drawing breath felt like an effort against an invisible mountain pressing down upon the world.
Everything stopped.
The beasts stopped roaring.
The humans stopped breathing.
Even the distant sounds of battle seemed to extinguish themselves all at once, as though the entire battlefield had been forcibly muted by a higher authority that tolerated no distractions.
