Under the gazes of Instaron and the others, the mist overhead was gradually dispersing layer by layer, as if blown away by the wind, revealing thick clouds in the sky. A burning meteor dragged a long trail from west to east across the heavens, bursting with dazzling light.
The light was reflected in everyone's eyes, sparkling brilliantly. To its west, there was another meteor. Then a third and a fourth shining speck pierced through the clouds and fell toward the east. They seemed to illuminate the clouds, turning the undersides a brilliant gold and crimson.
"What is that?"
Someone asked.
But no one answered.
A wave of screams drowned everything out.
"Whoosh!"
Clusters of crystals flew over the forest, like a startled flock of birds blotting out the sky. Then came even higher and larger crystal clusters. They formed a curtain wall above the low-flying clusters, and above them were still more, like an enormous swarm of insects.
The hive was migrating. The entire sky seemed to be a flowing purple tide, forming several interwoven currents that slowly advanced through the heavens.
But the slowness was only a visual illusion. The lower they flew, the faster the crystal clusters moved. The formations almost shrieked as they swept over the forest. Some even brushed the treetops, stirring up streams of rushing air and sending crystal dust billowing through the sky.
Several blind crystal clusters even tried to attack Brando, but their fate was no better than that of the ones before them. One after another, they crashed into the shining barrier and were reduced to dust.
Everyone began watching the web-like arched barrier flicker incessantly under the crystal clusters' impacts, as if it might collapse at any moment. But that never happened. It merely deformed slightly before immediately returning to its