The ruins trembled like a living thing.
Golden fire surged upward, carving through the violet haze that still filled the air. The scent of smoke, blood, and molten stone mixed into something heavy — suffocating.
High above, the Third Pillar floated among debris, her aura pulsing violently. Violet arcs of mana flickered around her body, unstable and raw. Her eyes — once sharp and composed — were wide with disbelief.
"Brother…" she whispered, voice cracking as the word vanished beneath the roar of collapsing stone.
The echo of his death still lingered in the mana around them, like a phantom heartbeat. She could feel it — the void where his presence used to be. For the first time, her power faltered. The fragments of rock orbiting her collapsed, crashing to the ground in slow motion.
