Martha's knees trembled beneath her, cold and unresponsive as if bound by invisible chains. Her heart raced in a futile attempt to pump courage into her veins, but fear had long taken root.
"Wha-what was that?" she thought, her voice a mere whisper in the storm of emotions. Her eyes, wide and unblinking, locked onto the thousands of blood-red spheres floating ominously in the air, pulsating like living hearts. She couldn't move—her body refused to obey her.
I can't move my body at all…
The spheres weren't just decorations; even at a glance, Martha knew they were dangerous. That suspicion crystallized into certainty when one shot downward, a blur of crimson that obliterated the ground near Gleren in a deafening explosion. The shockwave slammed into Martha like a physical force, stealing her breath. Her terrified thoughts raced: If one of those hits a person, there'll be nothing left of them but a smear on the ground.
