"Cough, cough."
As the dust finally settled, Nightfire doubled over, coughing violently.
Her vision swam before slowly clearing... What she saw made her breath hitch; the ground she stood on a few seconds ago shattered into deep fractures that spread outward like a spiderweb.
Her throat tightened as she realised how close she had come to falling.
One wrong step, one delayed reaction, and she would have vanished into the broken earth below.
Slowly, her gaze lifted, following the cracks until they ended at a pair of towering metallic legs planted firmly into the ground.
The figure loomed like a walking fortress, taller than a tree and broader than before. Jagged wires protruded from its metallic body, twitching and sparking as a distorted whining sound echoed from within its frame, sharp enough to make her ears ring.
"G-Guys?" Nightfire called out.
"I am here… cough, cough," came Selene's voice, rough but steady despite the debris clinging to her.
