For a few impossible seconds, the world stopped breathing.
The ruins glowed with a faint, molten hue — the last light of the fires Albrecht had left behind. Every ember drifted upward, weightless, like sparks drawn toward something divine.
The Third and Fourth Pillars stood opposite him, their synchronized mana still twisting the air into violet and crimson waves. Yet even they hesitated, their combined pressure flickering beneath the weight of his presence.
Selene felt her knees weaken just standing near him. Noir's shadow form trembled against the heat, the black of her fur now reflecting gold.
Noel exhaled slowly, eyes fixed on his father's back. 'I've seen him fight before... but never like this.'
Albrecht didn't speak. His eyes were sharp, steady — the gaze of a man who had carried too many battles and never once bowed.
Then he drove his sword into the ground with a dull clang. The sound rippled through the ruins, and every fragment of light bent toward him.
