No matter how much Kieran attempted to call out to Adeia using the connection fostered by the Sacred Inheritor, it was as if his voice couldn't penetrate her mind, impeded by a strange sound barrier.
His first scream had stimulated a faint reaction, but from then on… nothing. Kieran knew why. It was the Flame's doing, who utilized its aura to create a baffling ward around Adeia.
Perhaps that should have stopped Kieran's advance then and there, convincing him not to approach, but it didn't.
He waded through the thickening aura, which became dense like sludge.
Taking even another step forward had become incredibly hard. For a moment, it stumped Kieran, completely ruining his forward momentum. Stuck in place, he surveyed this dense energy.
It borrowed upon the energy of the monoliths, which seemed to draw power from the Darkness Below. More than that, Kieran could feel an intensifying rumble traveling through this strange gloaming.