Plumes of smoke appeared across the room as if somewhere deep in the walls an unseen fire raged beyond Valens’s sight. Trickles of it fluttePlumes of smoke appeared across the room as if somewhere deep in the walls an unseen fire raged beyond Valens’s sight. Trickles of it fluttered gently and concentrated on the four corners of the room, rising and dancing, embers sparkling inside of them, casting long shadows down the ground.The others reeled back at the sight while Valens furrowed his brows at the change over the Resonance. Something was odd. Strange frequencies bloomed straight into the peaceful rhythm and pushed it, scattering right away like rocks thrown into the still surface of a lake. The resulting waves were now forming into new beings. Live beings of different quality.He caught a hand in the madness of it, stretching painfully slow from the left corner, painted nails looking rich in color. They ended in a soft pair of hands, skin almost too smooth that it bordered on the unnatural. A woman’s hands, no doubt, but the rest… a billowing robe of black hampered with Valens’s sound vision.“Don’t fall for the soft skin,” Nomad whispered from the side, back stooped slightly as if he was preparing for a lunge, but his legs lacked that sort of tightness to make the attempt seem genuine. More like a cautious stance, Valens supposed, against the possibility of things going wrong. “These are old women troubled with centuries-long of suppression.”“What is happening?” Selin searched the plumes of smoke with wide eyes, rubbing aggressively at her right hand. Itching, perhaps, by the looks of it. Her skin reddened as if disturbed. “I-I…”“What is the plan?” Celme muttered, fingers balled into fists. “Do we just go in? Make sure they stay in the smoke?”“Just wait,” Nomad shook his head. “They’re too strong for you and me to take on.”“What about Valens?” Celme asked, frowning.“That’s a different story,” (...)