Kaal, after calming Amelia, knelt in the center of the hidden chamber. From a cloth satchel sewn discreetly into his tattered sleeve, he retrieved several fire crystal ores salvaged during the chaos of the rebellion. Each shard pulsed faintly with dormant energy.
He moved with careful precision, placing the ores in a star-shaped pattern within a larger circle scratched into the stone floor. Then, he positioned three of the crystals in a triangular formation at the heart of the layout. With a piece of chalk-like mineral, he drew thin connecting lines between them, etched grooves forming the foundation of an old, rudimentary array.
It was a basic Qi-Gathering Formation. Crude, yes, but functional.
With a soft hum, the formation flickered to life.
The fire crystals began to glow, faint red light leaking from their jagged edges. Raw Fire Qi surged outward, tendrils of heat swirling through the air before piercing into Kaal's mortal meridians.
His body tensed instantly.
