The battlefield was silent for a single, fragile heartbeat.
The void, once filled with the endless clatter of chains, had quieted to a low hum. Fractured shards of broken vows floated like glass snowflakes, drifting in slow circles around Ren and Selene.
Ren's chest heaved, every breath tasting like iron and smoke. His knuckles were raw, his body battered, yet his vow-chain still pulsed with stubborn light. Selene leaned against him, steadying his stance, her silver hair flowing in the strange gravity of the mirror world.
For the first time since the battle began—the Keeper bled.
A deep fissure had split across his chest, black light seeping out in jagged cracks. The shadows around him writhed, no longer controlled, but twitching violently like wounded serpents.
The Keeper's hollow voice trembled—not with weakness, but with something far darker. "You… dared…"
Ren's grip tightened on the chain, his own voice raw but steady. "Not just dared. I did."
