My lungs felt scorched as I closed in, each breath scraping my throat like sandpaper. The air carried a metallic tang, mingling with the lingering aftertaste of illusions that had just burned away. Every muscle in my body ached from the constant demands of chasing the meltdown through Kael'Thorne's shattered corridors, and I could feel the dryness tighten in my chest, an invisible noose of exhaustion. But the chamber wouldn't allow me to hesitate—wouldn't give me a single heartbeat to reflect. Not while the Harbinger stood there in the swirling fractal haze, calmly drawing on the leyline's power as though it were his birthright.