The transition into the first layer was like stepping into a completely different world. The chaotic energy of the flux subsided as the group emerged, replaced by an overwhelming sense of unease. The sky was a swirling canvas of burnt orange and ash-gray clouds, streaked with flashes of lightning that illuminated the desolate landscape below. The ground was an uneven expanse of coarse, sand-like material interspersed with jagged rocks and strange, luminescent flora that pulsed faintly with Aetheric light.
The air was thick and acrid, carrying the faint metallic tang of the storms that raged beyond the boundary they had just crossed. In the distance, the remnants of structures—either ancient ruins or the aftermath of countless battles—stood as silent witnesses to the unrelenting violence of the Wastes. Craters littered the landscape, some still smoldering with an eerie, greenish flame.
