Aether's eyes widened in horror as he looked at the glowing message. "T-Terminated?" His voice cracked, disbelief striking him harder than any blade. He staggered back, rope tightening in his grip.
Just then—
/Aether… I couldn't sense her pulse./
Nightfire's voice echoed in his mind. For a second, everything turned blunt, soundless, his mind drowning in numbness. His hands clenched the rope so tightly it burned against his skin. Slowly, he opened his eyes—deep, black, void-like—and glared at Starla, at every ghost around him. The horde trembled under that gaze.
Meanwhile, Nightfire's trembling fingers brushed over the casket, her eyes darting. She searched every inch, expecting the skeletal body she had seen before… but there was nothing.
No half-decayed body. No grotesque mix of bone and flesh.
Nyx's body was whole... Fresh. Beautiful in stillness!
"Nyx…" Nightfire whispered, her hand hovering above the woman's pale skin. Her chest tightened.
