“We’ll never know unless I try.” Determination blazed in Jared‘s eyes; with the power now commanded,  believed could summon the lightning and carve a path to the Fourth Heaven.

Outside the Seventh Hall, Jared sat cross-legged on the vast square. He drew a slow breath. Every drop of his energy erupted at once, whipping the air into a howling vortex around him.

Jhaelyn clutched Jemima’s sleeve, eyes wide.

“What is Jared doing?” whispered. Saleto’s expression tightened. “He means to force the lightning tribulation to fall and tear open a passage to the Fourth Heaven.”

Hearing this, the two women gasped in unison.

To summon the tribulation was already courting death; to use that power to rip space apart was nothing short of wagering his life for a single throw of the dice.

A moment later, the clear sky blackened. Clouds knotted above Darkwind Abyss, silver snakes of lightning writhing beneath the ink.