The second gate opened with a sound that rolled through the treasury like a mountain dragging itself awake, the ancient golden doors grinding apart while thick streams of pale light spilled through the widening gap.
The first wave of golems had already been reduced to piles of broken golden limbs, shattered weapons, cracked cores, and sparking rune plates scattered across the lower hall, yet the treasury did not show even the slightest sign of being satisfied.
Instead, the moment the second gate opened, the runes engraved across the walls and pillars brightened again, and the heavy pressure in the hall grew sharper, colder, and far more focused than before.
Sage, who was still hovering among the upper bubbles with wind magic circles glowing beneath his boots, felt the change immediately.
