[VOLUME 11: THE ETERNAL CHASE][LIFE: #48][LOCATION: VANCE TOWER, PENTHOUSE]
The frogs had stopped falling.
In fact, everything had stopped. The wind. The traffic noise from the city below. Even the hum of the refrigerator in Aldren Vance's kitchen.
Silence hung over the penthouse like a shroud.
Elara Vance stood by the window, gripping The Baker's Wrath. The rolling pin hummed with a low, blue light, reacting to her anxiety.
"It's too quiet," Elara whispered. "Is this the eye of the storm?"
Li Wusheng stood in the center of the room. He wasn't looking out the window; he was looking up at the ceiling. His face, usually serene, was pale.
"No," Li said softly. "The storm has not started yet. This is the inhalation."
"Inhalation?" Kaelen Thorne asked, tightening the bolts on his wrench.
"The Heavens are taking a breath," Li drew a paper talisman from his sleeve. It caught fire instantly without him commanding it. "The Qi in the atmosphere has vanished. It has been sucked up."
