Emberion's fire magic coalesced around Jack's entire upper body. The heat was so intense that the air itself began to shimmer.
But this wasn't conventional flame. This was volcanic slag. Molten rock cooled to a consistency resembling armor, forming around Jack's torso and shoulders.
The slag formed a crust.
Designed not to deflect the Herald's claw, but to absorb the impact and distribute the kinetic force across a wider surface area.
The slag hardened even as the Herald's claw made contact, the volcanic material cooling to maximum density in the instant before impact.
The Herald's claw struck Jack's raised palm and the slag-crusted shoulder with the force of continental collision.
[-100,000 HP]
The notification flashed across Jack's vision in stark white lettering.
The impact created a shockwave that propagated outward across the entire battlefield. The ground beneath Jack's feet cracked.
