The black sand remained over the snow for a few seconds.
No one moved.
Not even the beasts.
The entire field seemed to have been put on pause by an invisible hand. The guards on the walls still held bows, spears, and magical catalysts raised, but none fired. The guild members, scattered through the ravines and side corridors, also stood still, looking at the point where the shadow had spoken. Even the creatures that had run in panic from the southeast now seemed incapable of choosing between fleeing and bowing to fear.
Strax was the first to walk.
He approached the black sand without haste, with White Fire still burning in one hand and Black Ice covering the fingers of the other like dark claws. The snow around the stain did not melt, but it also did not freeze. It only slowly retreated, as if that dust refused to touch anything that belonged to the normal world.
Frieren appeared beside him a few seconds later, holding an isolating vial with both hands.
