Dawn tore through the clouds above Magic City like a black meteor.
He left the sound barrier far behind, its shock waves fading into silent ripples.
The land and sea below raced backward through his field of vision. He could make out the outlines of continents and the courses of mountain ranges.
After becoming a god, distances across the planet were no longer an obstacle.
He did not slow down. His destination was the heart of South America: the Amazon Rainforest, known as the lungs of the world.
The closer he drew, the thicker and warmer the air became.
But beneath that warmth lingered a sickly sweet stench of rust and rotting flesh.
The green below was no longer vibrant. It had turned a diseased, swollen shade, as though pus might drip from it at any moment.
Dawn stopped atop a giant tree whose crown shaded a hundred-meter stretch of forest.
His toes rested lightly on a leaf. It dipped only slightly beneath him.
He looked down. This rainforest was dead.
The trees' branches twisted into grotesque shapes resembling human skeletons caught mid-struggle. Raised, dark-red veins covered their rough bark.
A winding river cut through the forest.
What flowed through it was not clear water, but a sluggish, dark-red liquid that reeked of blood.
This was the Divine Kingdom of Curseblood Mother Sutherland.
A garden of decay, watered with blood and plague.
"A fresh Divinity..."
A woman's voice echoed throughout the rainforest.
It had a sticky quality, as though it seeped from every leaf and every drop of blood.
"And the scent of speed... What a rare addition to my collection."
Dawn did not answer.
He stood motionless in the treetop, the Mekong Jaw Blade hanging quietly at his waist.
Without a sound, his senses spread across dozens of miles.