The room faded.
Not gradually—there was no gentle transition—but abruptly, as if someone had closed a door on reality itself. The wide windows overlooking Carac, the warm mana lamps, the quiet luxury of the suite… all of it dissolved into nothing.
Selendra closed her eyes.
Absolute concentration.
The only thing that remained was sensation.
Blood.
She felt it first as rhythm. The steady, accelerating pulse beneath her lips. Trafalgar's heartbeat, strong and controlled, thudding against her senses with unnatural clarity. Each beat echoed louder than the last, filling the void where the world used to be.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
From Trafalgar's side, there was nothing to do but watch. He stood still, eyes fixed on her, body tense but unmoving. He could feel the pull at his wrist—the steady draw of blood leaving his body—but more than that, he could hear it. The rush in his ears. The way his own heartbeat seemed to dominate the silence.
That was all that existed now.
