The dizzying sensation of spatial teleportation receded like a tide, replaced by the solid feel of earth beneath her feet.
Cana's eyes snapped open, and what greeted her was not the chaotic dimensional turbulence she expected, but a... strange and magnificent scene.
She stood in the center of a wide, straight road paved with a peculiar, mirror-smooth rock.
On both sides of the road stretched a lush, vibrant Magic Forest, emanating a strong life force, where the branches and leaves of ancient, towering trees swayed in the breeze, casting dappled light and shadow.
The air was filled with a mixture of earth, grass, and a peculiar energy, fresh yet carrying an indescribable sense of oppression.
Looking up, the sky was not the azure blue of the real world, but a deep, dark purple dome flowing with starlight, dotted with countless tiny points of light like stars, slowly rotating and flickering.
In the distance, the faint outlines of towering crystal spires, reaching into the clouds, could be seen, emitting a faint and constant glow.
This was EZ's Dimensional Summoning space – Summoners Rift.
However, this 'home' which should have been peaceful and serene, was now shrouded in an ominous gloom.
A faint, unsettling dark aura permeated the air, spreading slowly like viscous ink dripping into clear water.
From deep within the forest, faint, heart-pounding growls and muffled thuds of energy collisions could be heard.
"Scattered..." Cana quickly looked around; she was alone.
Max, Natsu, Levy, and Lucy were nowhere to be seen.
Clearly, the spatial teleportation had randomly dispersed them to different locations within the Rift.
She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.
Golden fairy cards flipped nimbly between her fingers, emitting a soft glow that dispelled some of the unease in her heart.
The immediate priority was to find the others and determine EZ's location.
She cautiously proceeded along the road, her mental power highly concentrated, sensing the surrounding energy fluctuations.
The structure of the Rift was more complex than she had imagined; three main roads, like giant ravines, divided the Rift into different areas, with dense and dangerous magic jungles and winding rivers between the roads.
Just then—
"Screech—!!!"
A piercing, shrill cry, filled with tyranny and destruction, tore through the silence of the Rift!
Cana's head snapped up!
Above the middle lane of the Rift, in the dark purple sky, a massive figure, burning with black flames, plunged downwards like a falling meteor, accompanied by a shriek that ripped through the air!
It was a Flamingo!
But it was no longer the fire spirit, soaring through the sky with wings flowing with lava, as she remembered!
Its body was completely corrupted by pure darkness, as black as charcoal!
Its originally burning crimson wings had extinguished, leaving only a gaunt, black skeleton covered in a cold metallic sheen!
Instead of lava, viscous, ink-like dark energy streams, emanating a soul-freezing chill, flowed through the gaps in its skeleton!
Those eyes, once burning with flames, now held only two hollow, cold, crimson specters burning with destructive fire!
An S-Rank Magic Beast—the Flamingo!
It had been completely corrupted by darkness!
It circled above Cana's head, its massive skeletal wings stirring up a chilling gale, its crimson specters locked onto Cana below, a terrifying 'clack' sound, like grinding bones, emanating from deep within its throat, and viscous black saliva dripped from its sharp beak, corroding deep, sizzling pits in the ground!
A dark pressure, even more terrifying, more chaotic, and filled with endless distortion and malice than before, pressed down heavily on Cana's heart like a massive mountain!
"I've been found..." Cana's pupils constricted, and her heart sank!
Without hesitation, she forcefully threw a handful of golden fairy cards into the air!
"fairy card · Elemental Bulwark!"
The cards flashed with patterns of fire, frost, lightning, hurricane, and holy light!
The cards formed a complex defensive array in the air, and violent elemental energy was instantly unleashed! Fire barrier, frost shield, lightning net, tearing hurricane, purifying holy light... Five distinct yet equally powerful elemental energies instantly intertwined and merged, forming a massive, shimmering elemental shield in front of Cana!
Almost the instant the shield formed!
"Screech—!!!" The Blackened Flamingo let out a piercing shriek!
It suddenly spread its black skeletal wings, and the dark energy flowing through the gaps in its skeleton instantly boiled and condensed!
Countless black energy arrows, solid as reality and emanating a bone-chilling cold, rained down like a downpour!
Each arrow carried the speed to tear space and the terrifying power to annihilate life!
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang—!!!!
The dense rain of black arrows slammed fiercely into the elemental shield!
Frost and darkness violently collided, fire and chill annihilated each other, lightning and stillness intertwined in resistance, hurricane and stagnation tore at each other, holy light and defilement purified!
The elemental shield violently fluctuated, its light flickering erratically, its surface rapidly covered in spiderweb-like cracks!
Cana grunted, her magic power pouring out like a released flood, maintaining the crumbling shield!
"Such powerful strength..." She gritted her teeth, a hint of solemnity flashing in her eyes, "Completely corrupted by darkness... I must find a way to break through!"
Meanwhile, in the bottom lane of the Rift.
Lucy and Levy had just stabilized from the dizzying teleportation, standing on the same smooth rock road, beside a wide, turbulent river shimmering with a strange blue light.
"Levy! Are you alright?" Lucy supported the still-shaking Levy, nervously looking around.
"I'm fine, Lucy." Levy pushed up her glasses and quickly opened the colorful magic book in her hand, "Is this EZ's summoning space? It feels... so oppressive."
Before she finished speaking, a horrifying 'crunch, crunch' sound, like chewing bones, accompanied by the 'drip, drop' of viscous liquid, came from the riverbank not far away!
Both looked in the direction of the sound, and their faces instantly changed dramatically!
On the riverbank, a Marsh Frog, massive as a small truck and entirely covered in viscous black slime, was savagely tearing at another smaller, normal gray-green Marsh Frog with its huge mouth full of grotesque snake-like fangs!
The normal Marsh Frog let out a painful and weak 'ribbit' sound, its body convulsing violently, yet unable to break free!
The corrupted Marsh Frog's eyes gleamed with pure savagery and greed; with each bite of its massive mouth, it tore off large chunks of flesh and slime!
Green blood and black slime mixed together, flowing across the ground, emitting a pungent stench!
Even more terrifying, as it devoured the flesh of its kind, the dark aura around it surged at a visible rate!
The slime on its body became deeper and more viscous, like solidified asphalt!
The poisonous mist from its mouth turned pure black, as if it could corrode space!
Its body also slightly expanded in size!
"It's... devouring its own kind?!" Lucy's stomach churned, and her face turned pale.
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