Ash drifted lazily in the pale daylight. The shattered overpass loomed like a broken rib cage against the horizon. What had been a massacre an hour ago now looked like a strange harvest field—bodies reduced to dust, arcane fractures etched into the ground, scorch marks spiraling in elegant destruction.
And scattered among the ruin—
Gold.
Luis crouched again, carefully brushing soot from another glowing pod.
"There's more," he announced, far too pleased for someone standing in the aftermath of a Level 9 engagement.
Xavier stood nearby, arms crossed, flames extinguished but heat still lingering in the air around him. "Define more."
Luis lifted one gently.
The seed pulsed faintly in his palm.
"More than three," he said.
Alvin approached slowly, gaze analytical now rather than bloodthirsty. The wild aura from earlier had receded, leaving only a faint shimmer of authority around him.
He crouched beside Luis.
