Night fell gently over Magical City. It lowered itself in layers, heavy and watchful, until even the air felt compressed. Robert had just stepped out into the inner courtyard when the first distant roar rolled across the rooftops. It was not the isolated cry of a wandering beast. It was answered by another, farther west, and then by a third that carried too close to the city walls.
The guards on Osborn territory stiffened almost as one. Sword and blade shifted against leather. Somewhere beyond the outer districts, a warning bell began to ring. He was not frantic, not yet, but instead moved with quiet deliberation.
Robert closed his eyes for a moment and extended his system scan. The scan within the Magical City was uneven again, similar to the forest before a predator revealed itself. But this felt larger in scale. Small waves of tension spread through the air, moving outward as stones dropped into still water.
