The black silk blindfold slid smoothly off Kaelen’s forehead, folding into his open palm.
He reached up with his other hand, plucked the two beeswax earplugs from his ears, and tossed them onto the straw mat. The full roar of the celestial tempest crashed against his eardrums, smelling of ozone, sulfur, and scorched iron.
Kaelen swung his legs over the side of the stone slab.
He stood up on the granite battlement, rotating his left shoulder until the joint let out a dull, satisfying pop.
Around his feet, the ten-yard circle of absolute stillness held firm. The howling crimson hurricane raged across the sky, yet not a single thread of Kaelen’s wide blue sleeves fluttered in the gale.
Deep inside his mind, the Fallow Slate blazed with pristine, diamond-white brilliance.
[The Fallow Slate] [Track 4: Dragon-Vein & Fortress Array Rewriting] [120-Minute Burst Window Active — Minute 1 of a Planned 5] [Active Multiplier: 18,010x] [Rate: 1 Burst Minute = 18,010 Full Baseline Hours] [Status: Transcendent Fallow State Engaged]
The flow of comprehension was staggering.
