The explosion of light had stripped the sky of all color. Ash fell like snow, thick and choking, as the remnants of the Watchers' portal crackled and twisted above the battlefield. Darian stood at the epicenter, his silhouette crowned in shadowflame, armor still glowing from the release of the Shard's power.
Silence reigned for a heartbeat.
Then chaos erupted.
The Watchers shrieked—inhuman, discordant—as the destruction of the Shard sent ripples through the fabric of reality. Their forms, once ethereal and flawless, now flickered, destabilized. Cracks formed across their veiled faces, and beneath the light… darkness churned.
Sareth, shielded behind a collapsed pillar, stared in stunned disbelief. "Darian… what have you become?"
Kaelin and Petra rallied what was left of the Vanguard, forming a defensive line at the base of the spire. The soldiers looked on in awe and terror, unsure whether the man standing above them was still Darian—or something else entirely.
