Lanier, like Ronan, narrowed his eyes against the sun and stared into the sky, extending his mental perception farther to track the "meteor's" trajectory.
But he soon began to struggle.
The blinding sunlight was secondary. The real problem was that within a breath or two, the "meteor" had entered the "inner layer" of the perceptible space-time structure, conducting interactions beyond his comprehension, much like the layered "grape" structure of a cargo ship.
Lanier thought his perception was about to lose track of it.
Yet at that moment, Geng Huai, suppressed beneath Five Fingers Mountain... or perhaps Five Elements Mountain, displayed the stubbornness of an Extraordinary Species.
Perhaps he had found some opportunity amid the shifting relationships of the space-time structure. Or perhaps he was simply making a desperate final strike, struggling one last time.
In any case, the instant the "meteor" pierced through the void barrier, Lanier felt a far more violent tremor than any before.
Geng Huai's uniquely irritable and uninhibited aura formed a hurricane sweeping across the heavens, instantly tearing apart the clouds.
A dense cloud mass nearby evaporated by more than half in the blink of an eye. What remained resembled shattered scales and scraps of cotton, forming a broken ring-shaped Cloud Diagram in the sky. It would likely be visible from dozens or even hundreds of kilometers away—certainly not something nature could accomplish.
After a brief interval, the aftershock of the sky's convulsion reached the cargo ship, carrying the especially grim scent of blood and wind that hit one's face when a beast roared.
The airflow lashed against their faces, seemingly carrying faint electric currents that made their skin tingle and their hairs stand on end.
Electricity?
Lanier sensed something unusual.
With the clouds shattered, the sunlight became even more glaring. At the place where the