Time didn't slow so much as condense; the world contracted to a single, unbearable line of sight where every motion of the abyssal became like a clock ticking toward his own death.
The demigod lunged at Kain with fury, the boy's body shredding around it—scales flaking in strips, violet light pulsing through hairline fractures that crawled like molten rivers across skin.
The vessel had minutes left, maybe even only seconds… but those seconds were more than enough to kill him.
And Kain was all out of contracts to protect him.
Vauleth, half-buried from being slammed into the ground, was unconscious with his wings splayed and flames completely out.
Aegis was reduced to a mound of rubble save for the microscopic core Kain had already recalled to his star space, barely preserving his life.
Bea's presence was gone like a light snuffed out, and only the presence of the contract still in place kept Kain sane.
