The air trembled with the deafening sound of cracking stone.

Above us, massive chunks of the ceiling began to break apart, cascading downward like a death sentence.

Evelyn let out a weak gasp, her body swaying as she tried to step back, but there was nowhere to go.

I clenched my fists, and without hesitation, I raised my hand toward the falling debris.

A violent storm of electricity erupted from my palm, streaking toward the descending boulders.

The first bolt struck a massive chunk of rock, shattering it into dust before it could even reach us.

But more kept falling, dozens, maybe hundreds, an unrelenting avalanche from above.

I gritted my teeth, my eyes glowing yellow with raw power.

Then I'll just destroy them all.

Electricity crackled around me, the air charged with energy as I raised both hands this time.

A barrage of pure destruction rained upward, piercing through the falling debris.

Each bolt tore through the boulders, reducing them to rubble before they could even reach the ground.

The entire chamber flashed with blinding blue light, the sheer force of the attacks sending shockwaves rippling through the collapsing structure.

Smoke and dust filled the air.

Pieces of shattered rock pelted the ground around us.

Evelyn shielded her face, coughing, her wide eyes darting toward me.

“…You—”

“I don't have time for that now,” I cut in, my voice sharp.

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The ceiling was still crumbling, and the ground beneath us had begun to shake violently.

The entire chamber was on the verge of total collapse.

And we still had no way out.

A deep, thunderous crack split through the air.

My eyes snapped upward, this one was different.

A massive slab of stone, easily the size of a building, was plummeting straight toward us, its sheer weight distorting the air as it fell.

If it hit, there would be nothing left, no escape, no second chances.

Evelyn let out a sharp breath, stumbling back, but I didn't move.

I didn't flinch.

Instead, I raised my hand, fingers tightening as lightning crackled violently around my arm.

The pressure in the air shifted, an overwhelming surge of energy gathering in my palm.

I’ll erase it.

A blinding spear of lightning erupted from my fingertips, roaring upward like an unstoppable force of nature.

The moment it struck, the entire chamber was engulfed in a white-hot explosion.

The rock didn’t just shatter, it disintegrated, erased from existence as the sheer force of the lightning bolt tore through it.

The explosion sent shockwaves in every direction, the ground beneath us trembling under the raw power.

Dust and debris were swept away in the violent surge, leaving behind only empty air where the colossal rock had been.

Evelyn’s breath hitched, her voice barely above a whisper.

“That… that wasn’t normal lightning.”

I lowered my hand, exhaling slowly as sparks still crackled around my fingertips.

“There’s no such thing as ‘normal’ for me.”

The chamber continued to collapse around us, but I wasn’t done yet.

I needed a way out.

And I was going to find it.

Evelyn suddenly gasped, her trembling hand reaching out as she pointed toward the far end of the collapsing chamber.

“There! A portal!” she shouted, her voice barely cutting through the rumbling destruction around us.

I turned my head sharply.

Through the dust and chaos, a faint shimmer of light flickered in the distance, a swirling mass of energy, unstable yet unmistakably a portal.

It was our way out.

But the ceiling above it was breaking apart.

Massive chunks of stone were crumbling, falling like meteors, threatening to bury the portal before we could even reach it.

I clenched my fists.

Not a chance.

“Stay close to me,” I ordered.

Evelyn hesitated for a moment before nodding.

Lightning crackled along my arms as I raised my hands, raw energy coursing through my veins.

The next wave of falling debris rushed down, but I was faster.

Bolts of lightning ripped through the air, streaking like divine punishment toward the descending boulders.

Each strike annihilated them instantly, turning solid stone into harmless dust and sparks.

But more kept falling.

I gritted my teeth and pushed forward, Evelyn running behind me.

Every few steps, another barrage of destruction rained down, but I wouldn’t let anything stop us.

We were getting to that portal.

No matter what.