The clearing held its breath, still as a painting. No insect chirped, no leaf rustled—a moment of perfect silence before chaos erupted.
In the next heartbeat, the world transformed into an inferno. A massive explosion tore through the clearing, unleashing devastation comparable to a collapsed nuclear reactor. The shockwave ripped trees from their roots, hurling them through the air like matchsticks. Flames devoured everything, leaving nothing untouched as they climbed skyward in a terrible pillar of destruction.
When the firestorm finally subsided, what remained was unrecognizable—a vast, smoldering crater carved deep into the earth where the clearing had once been. At its center lay the Core Formation expert, his body unrecognizable. Half his face had been burned beyond recognition, his left limbs entirely missing, and he was barely conscious.
"What happened? Where am I?" the man's thoughts swam sluggishly through his pain-clouded mind.
