A Gift
Roar—
The dragon head hanging down through the void seemed to let out a long, resonant cry.
Hum—
The strange flowers on the ground bloomed at the sound, revealing faces cradled by golden stamens. Their features were indistinct and ever-changing—men and women, young and old. Some wailed, some laughed hysterically, some sobbed softly, some roared in anger. Others sang in ecstasy or recited ancient scriptures in numb voices. The variations were endless.
Countless noisy, chaotic voices, brimming with every human emotion and desire, intertwined into a vast, murky, oppressive aura of mortal life that drifted above the sea of flowers.
This aura clashed with the ancient Dragon Might and the baleful earth energy that had filled the cavern. It was full of the petty details of existence, the entanglements of living, and the heat of desire.
Whoosh—
When that mortal aura grew dense enough, crimson flames silently ignited above the sea of flowers. In an instant, they swept through the entire cavern.
The flames had no heat. They even felt cold.
Yet wherever they passed, darkness retreated and starlight dissolved. The giant claw of starlight reaching down seemed to have met its natural enemy. The cold stars at its fingertips flickered violently a few times, then broke apart and vanished bit by bit, like pencil marks rubbed away by an eraser.
The boundless darkness, the illusion of a starry sky, the descending dragon head, the icy giant claw, the dark-red eyes—all the visions born of ancient memory and Dragon Might were swallowed in an instant by the sweeping, icy crimson Hellfire!
The cavern returned to normal.
Hot, stifling air, thick with the smell of sulfur and dust, enveloped Hermione once more.
The glow of the Karma Fire Jade Talisman faded, but it left her crimson cloak in place.