The silver veins pulsed again.
Brighter.
Closer.
This time, the entire fortress shook before the lightning even struck.
A deep vibration rolled through the ship's frame, as if something enormous had shifted beneath the sky itself.
The viewing screen flickered violently.
Barrier strain critical.
Outer mana pressure exceeding threshold.
Current collapse probability rising.
Warning glyphs spread across the control deck in dense overlapping layers.
Too many.
Too fast.
Kaelira tightened her grip on the railing.
"…Okay, I'm changing my assessment. This isn't 'extremely bad' anymore. This is 'we are absolutely going to die.'"
"Shut it," Aldric muttered.
Another pulse hit the ship hard enough to fracture part of the outer viewing glass.
"…And speak for yourself, brat."
"That is not reassuring!"
The fortress lurched again.
Downward this time.
A violent metallic groan thundered through the lower structure as unstable currents slammed against the barrier shell surrounding the ship.
Several mana arrays burst into sparks.
The cultist stumbled backward, still clutching the wrapped artifact protectively against her chest.
Outside—
the storm continued collapsing inward.
Not naturally.
Deliberately.
The silver lightning no longer resembled lightning.
It looked like flowing arteries, feeding power toward something hidden deep within the center of the vortex.
Draven watched the storm in silence.
One hand rested against the control interface.
Steady.
Unmoved.
Blue mana continued flowing from him into the ship in controlled streams while the navigation arrays rotated faster around the command platform.
Aldric finally frowned.
"…Alright."
His crimson eyes narrowed toward the storm.
"What the hell is this?"
Silence.
The black cat's ears remained flattened against its head.
Even it looked alert now.
Draven finally spoke.
Flat.
Cold.
"Yeah."
Another pulse slammed into the barrier hard enough to shake the entire control deck.
Cracks spiderwebbed further across the viewing glass.
"This is starting to get really fucking annoying."
"…Now it's annoying?"
Aldric's expression darkened as another violent tremor rolled through the fortress. Crimson mana flared beneath his feet to steady his floating stance.
Kaelira gripped the railing harder. "What exactly qualified as dangerous before this?!"
Aldric ignored her completely.
His eyes stayed locked on the storm outside, where silver lightning crawled across the fractured sky like living veins.
"We just got this damn ship," he said flatly.
Another pulse shook the hull.
Metal screamed somewhere deep below deck.
"We are not letting it get destroyed already."
The moment the words left his mouth—
the room changed.
Not sound.
Not light.
Pressure.
A sudden, crushing weight flooded the control deck so violently that everyone except Draven and Aldric stiffened instantly.
The cultist's breath caught.
Nia froze near the doorway.
Kaelira's ears flattened completely as her eyes widened.
Even the unconscious pilot jolted awake on the floor with a strangled gasp.
"Hhk—?!"
His eyes snapped open in panic.
"What—what is that—"
The air itself felt heavier.
Denser.
Like something vast had turned its attention directly toward the ship.
A chilling pressure pressed against instinct itself, making breathing feel momentarily wrong.
Only Draven remained seated calmly at the control platform.
Only Aldric looked mildly irritated.
Then—
movement.
Lyriana stepped forward.
A single crimson pulse spread outward from beneath her feet.
Aldric's eyes shifted toward her immediately.
"…Oi."
Mana erupted from Lyriana's body.
Not explosively.
Precisely.
Crimson light unfolded around her like flowing ribbons as enormous layered magic circles ignited across the control deck walls.
Then—
outside the viewing screen—
a second barrier formed.
The existing blue defensive layers expanded outward—
and a massive crimson shell wrapped around them.
The entire fortress ignited with light.
The storm struck instantly.
This time—
it held.
Everyone stared.
Even Kaelira forgot to panic for a brief moment.
The crimson barrier stretched across the fortress like a second sky, its surface rippling with controlled crimson currents as violent storm winds shattered harmlessly against it.
Aldric frowned.
"…Lyriana."
She ignored him completely.
More mana poured from her.
The barrier thickened.
The control deck vibrated as the ship forced itself deeper into the storm currents.
Aldric's expression sharpened.
"You're going to tear yourself apart."
Still, she didn't respond.
Her silver eyes remained fixed ahead.
Then she spoke.
Cold.
Absolute.
"Your Highness."
The title cut through the room instantly.
Every head turned toward Draven.
Lyriana's voice remained steady despite the monstrous mana pouring through her body.
"Go through the storm."
Silence.
Another impact hammered the barrier hard enough to shake the entire ship.
Silver cracks briefly spidered across Lyriana's defensive shell—
then repaired instantly.
"Full speed."
Kaelira stared at her.
"…You cannot possibly be serious."
Lyriana didn't blink.
"If we slow down, the current will crush the outer hull."
Another tremor slammed into the ship.
The pilot whimpered softly from the floor.
Aldric clicked his tongue before finally glancing toward Draven.
"…Well?"
Draven's eyes remained on the storm ahead.
On the spiraling center hidden deep within the violet clouds.
On the converging silver currents feeding into something unseen.
Then—
he answered.
"Alright."
Simple.
Calm.
His hand moved.
The entire ship responded instantly.
Blue mana erupted through the navigation arrays around the control platform as every system ignited at once.
Deep beneath the fortress—
engines roared awake.
The ship lurched forward violently.
Acceleration hit the control deck like a hammer.
The pilot was immediately thrown across the floor.
"Ghk—!"
Kaelira stumbled hard into the railing.
"WHOA—!"
Nia nearly lost her footing near the doorway before the cultist instinctively grabbed her arm.
Outside—
the storm screamed.
The fortress surged directly into the spiraling vortex at terrifying speed while silver lightning detonated across the outer barriers in blinding flashes.
The viewing screen turned almost entirely white.
Warning glyphs flooded the chamber.
Barrier strain catastrophic.
Hull pressure exceeding threshold.
Mana circulation unstable.
And still—
the ship accelerated.
Aldric let out a sharp laugh despite everything.
"There we go."
Another colossal impact slammed into the barrier shell.
Lyriana's crimson dome trembled violently.