CONTROL FROM THE SHADOWS
A bit more than a hundred meters above the tunnel where Julius and Zhao's group fought, in a cavern that had been excavated long ago specifically to monitor movement in the ruins directly below, the twin brothers of Orion worked with concentration making sweat run down their faces.
Magnus and Dorian were controlling four "hearts" simultaneously. Crystals floating in a formation requiring constant attention to maintain stability.
Two purple cores pulsed with energy that was familiar but difficult to manipulate, though not as difficult as the rhythm of the other two they had to synchronize perfectly or risk destabilization.
One blue core glowed with intensity that hurt the eyes if they looked directly at it for too long. Brilliant light that seemed to contain a compressed sky or ocean. Power that wanted to expand but was forcibly constrained within the crystalline structure.
