Round 178

The pool's surface broke cleanly when Merrin dove through, the water parting around her small form as if she weighed nothing at all. The magical energies within the liquid surged outward in a visible wave, crackling with blue-white light that illuminated the chamber’s rapidly collapsing walls from within. Varrika stood frozen on the edge of the platform, her scarred features twisted into an expression of pure terror. "Merrin!" she screamed, her voice barely carrying over the groaning of stressed stone. "What in the seven hells are you doing?!"

The dwarf warrior’s hands gripped her mace so tightly that her knuckles turned white, every muscle in her stocky frame tensed and ready to spring into action—though exactly what kind of action might prove useful against a collapsing dimension remained unclear. She watched helplessly as Merrin disappeared beneath the churning waters, leaving only ripples spreading outward from where she had entered.

The magical energies of the pool pulsed with an ominous rhythm, their swirling patterns casting shifting patterns of light and shadow across what remained of the chamber's ceiling. Dust and small crystal shards began raining down more heavily now, each impact adding to the growing pile of debris on the rapidly shrinking platform. Varrika found herself forced to take a step back as another section crumbled away mere feet from where she stood moments before.

"Merrin!" she shouted again, louder this time, her voice cracking with barely contained panic. "Answer me! Are you alright?" But only the echoes of her own voice returned to her, mocking and distorted by the collapsing space around them.