The flaming goblin mage spoke first, his voice crackling with heat and ritual authority.
"By the rules that bind us, battle here is forbidden."
With those words, he and the two other mages vanished, their forms flickering out like candles snuffed in the wind. It was not a retreat. No, far from it. Their magic flared as they blinked away, not concealing their trail, but broadcasting it—like beacons flaring in the dark, daring Ikenga to follow.
And he intended to.
A smile tugged at the corner of Ikenga's lips. He prepared to vanish in turn, to simply blink after them. But as he gathered his will, he felt it—the pressure of this world resisting him. A thick, unseen weight wrapped around his existence, slowing his thoughts, constricting his being. It was no surprise.
After all, Ikenga had severed his connection to this world long ago.
