"Fine," Vexar said at last. "I agree."
Rowan’s willingness to personally assist shifted the odds enough that refusing no longer made sense.
Vexar studied him carefully.
"One question," he added. "What do you gain from this?"
Rowan smiled faintly.
"I won’t pretend I’m selfless."
He folded his hands loosely.
"I’ve wandered outside structured factions for a long ti. My growth has stagnated."
"I entered this domain while experinting with spatial techniques. eting all of you is... an opportunity."
"If this succeeds, I’d like an introduction to the High Architect."
Solarian blinked.
"That’s it?"
He waved dismissively.
"When the High Architect erges from seclusion, I’ll recomnd you personally."
For Solarian, it was a trivial favor.
For Vexar, it stung.
He had spent countless years trying to earn a single audience.
Solarian could arrange one with a sentence.
The difference in status was infuriating.
Vexar said nothing.
Then added, "If this succeeds and the Deep Tide Dominion survives, you will receive a substantial reward."
With terms settled, Rowan handed the brush back to Solarian.
Solarian imdiately prepared to open an exit.
Rowan raised a hand.
"Don’t."
Solarian paused.
"We stay inside the World-Seal Canvas."
"Have anyone outside evacuate the area."
"The purge happens here."
Solarian frowned.
"Inside the Canvas?"
Rowan nodded.
"This domain is a supre containnt artifact. Its base structure alone will absorb a large portion of the incoming force."
"Stack that with additional defenses, and Pyros’s survival odds increase dramatically."
Understanding dawned.
Solarian quickly opened a narrow aperture and leaned outside, relaying instructions to Pyros’s parents and the local defenders.
As soon as he finished, the sky beyond darkened.
Massive storm clouds rolled in.
The purge had arrived.
Solarian sealed the aperture.
Inside the Canvas, the environnt shifted.
Runes ignited across the void.
Energy lines ford a vast geotric lattice around the group.
Rowan had already begun constructing his own barrier.
A multi-layered elental ward based on interlocking force principles.
Dense.
Stable.
Exceptionally resilient.
Solarian’s eyes widened.
"This formation..."
"It’s stronger than any defensive array I know."
Rowan gave a modest shrug.
"I have so experience."
He continued working.
Next, Rowan extended his hand.
Molten silver light condensed in midair.
The substance rapidly solidified into a dark tallic frawork.
Uru.
One of the most resilient tals Rowan knew.
He shaped it into a massive cage surrounding Pyros.
Then reinforced it through successive transmutation and enchantnt cycles until the structure humd with internal pressure.
Vexar stared.
"You’re building a containnt shell?"
"More like a lightning sink," Rowan said.
"It disperses and redirects electrical force."
Solarian exhaled slowly.
"Your crafting techniques are... impressive."
Rowan smiled faintly.
"I dabble."
When everything was complete, Rowan gestured.
"Everyone inside."
Solarian stepped in.
Glacien followed.
Vexar hesitated only a mont before entering as well.
Pyros stood at the center.
The sky within the Canvas began to glow.
Purple-white lightning coiled like living serpents above them.
The purge was seconds away.
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