As the hour of the great battle drew near, reality itself seemed to bend and warp, the very air thick with danger.
In the grand bazaar, where beings from across Naaim gathered to trade in wonders and secrets, whispers of cosmic import spread like wildfire.
"Have you felt it?" a merchant with skin like polished obsidian asked his colleague, eyes darting nervously. "The thinning of the veil?"
His companion, a creature of living light, flickered in agitation. "Indeed. The boundaries between realms grow weak. I fear what may slip through the cracks."
Above the bustling streets, in the highest spire of the Colosseum, the Ringmaster stood alone.
Harry Houdini, greatest of illusionists, now orchestrator of a game beyond mortal comprehension, gazed out over the city with eyes that saw far more than mere physical reality.
