Wincent raised the God Hand, and a magic circle bloomed beneath his feet. Crimson lines spiraled outward, carving symbols into the cracked stone that pulsed with a sickly, shifting light. His voice dropped low, guttural, the words scraping against the air like rusted iron.
"By the void between stars, by the silence before creation..."
The magic circle flared brighter. The symbols writhed, twisting into shapes that hurt to look at. Chaos magic. The air itself recoiled from the sound.
"Let the unbound current flow. Let the veil between worlds tear."
Ignis staggered. Her flames flickered wildly, surging and dying in the same breath. The blue-white light that had blazed around her moments ago guttered like a candle caught in a storm. She clutched her chest, her knees buckling.
"What... what is this...?"
Wincent's chant reached its peak. The magic circle blazed crimson, and he raised the God Hand high.
"Come forth, Chaos—"
Then an arrow whistled through the air.
