Back at the carvern outside the outskirts of Blinding Town where mayor Everlyn left Hutton and the others.
The sound of dripping water echoed softly across the dark stone walls. Flickering light bulbs set up by Bob cast uneven shadows, barely keeping the space lit. The air was still — until suddenly, it wasn't.
A faint tremor coursed through the ground, followed by a ripple of Qi energy so dense that it made the lantern flames waver violently.
Boma, who had been meditating near the cavern entrance, snapped his eyes open instantly. "What the hell—?"
Julian stood up from where he'd been cleaning a weapon. "It's him again," he said, his voice sharp as he turned toward the source. "It's coming from Hutton."
At the center of the cavern, Hutton Maxwell lay motionless on a rough bed of cloth and rock — still unconscious since the explosion that destroyed the previous cave. But now, the air around him shimmered faintly, distorting as waves of invisible power pulsed outward.
