"I'm leaving before your friends completely break the siphon outside. It'll just be a headache to get out back to my net otherwise," she announced.
"Once you push past the halfway point, the energies are going to get violently chaotic. I'd rather not be here when that happens."
She took a deliberate step backward.
Then, she paused. She shot him one last look over her shoulder. The playful, coquettish smirk was back, but this time, the warmth behind her eyes was undeniably real.
"Take care of yourself. And maybe… See you soon!"
She offered a single, exaggerated wink.
And she vanished.
She was gone before Ren could even open his mouth to reply, which, knowing her, was exactly how she had scripted the exit.
Left alone in the silence, the inner space continued to flood with radiant blue light, expanding unchallenged into the dark.
♢♢♢♢
Chaos arrived exactly as Selthia had promised.
