Regis stared at the swirling black clouds gathering above. "We need to go! Now! Ethan is fine! If we stay, we won't be!"
Directly over their heads, a vortex had formed, churning with nascent lightning.
"But—" Lyla began, her voice tight with panic.
"The tribulation clouds haven't dispersed," the Dragon Child interjected, pulling Lyla firmly along as she flew toward the distant Shatterstar mech. "That means Ethan is still alive. If he had died, the clouds would have vanished instantly."
Her words landed with clarifying force. Seeing the Shatterstar mech suddenly power up and fly off on its own moments earlier had been a sign. It had to be under Ethan's remote control.
The sky around them had turned the deep black of an artificial midnight, a localized apocalypse. The central vortex hung like the maw of some cosmic leviathan, gathering its dreadful strength.
…
