The countdown reached zero.
The ground trembled.
A low, droning horn echoed from beyond the gate, and the entrance at the far end of the path split open like a maw.
Monsters poured out.
They were not uniform. Some were hulking quadrupeds plated in jagged stone. Others were floating aberrations with translucent bodies and pulsing cores. In between them slithered thin, fast creatures that hugged the ground, their limbs blurring as they moved.
"Wave density is high," Fraisea said calmly, eyes fixed on the interface only she could see. "Path is holding. Towers are active."
Each of the four towers along the path lit up as the players took position.
Saffa stood atop the first tower, cold mist curling around her feet.
Clovelle occupied the second, space itself subtly warping around her silhouette.
Fraisea, once finished with construction, moved to the third tower, crystalline water rings slowly rotating behind her.
