The tremors grew fiercer as Elara and her companions ran through the collapsing tunnel, the sound of the mountain's fury echoing around them. Stones crashed down from above, and the ground buckled beneath their feet. Every step felt like it could be their last.
"Elara, do something!" Kirin shouted, his voice barely audible over the roar of the earth shifting around them.
She could feel the magic pulsing beneath the surface, chaotic and wild, but somehow familiar. It was the same energy that had responded to her when she touched the door, the same heartbeat she'd felt when she fought the shadowy figure. Whatever force was controlling the mountain, it was alive. And it was waiting for her.
"I can feel it," Elara said breathlessly. "The magic—it's trying to communicate."
"We don't have time for communication!" Jarek snapped, narrowly dodging a falling boulder. "This place is about to bury us alive!"