The corrupted energy pulsing beneath Jax's fingertips felt wrong, as the divine signature woven into the crystalline anchor carried traces of holy power similar to what he had sensed from the Church before, yet it lacked the purity normally associated with genuine divine blessings.
It was distorted and artificial, forced into shape through methods that clearly were never meant to exist naturally.
Jax remained crouched silently for several moments while golden light flickered faintly behind his eyes.
The dead flowers around him trembled beneath the pressure of his mana alone.
"...You're really starting to piss me off." Jax muttered quietly.
The dimensional anchor embedded within the celestial current pulsed again weakly, continuing to siphon away power from the stars overhead.
Even now, mana flowed upward through invisible channels toward somewhere beyond the dimensional walls.
