For a long moment, no one moved.
The spiral still turned, but slowly now, like something remembering it no longer needed to rush. The ocean beneath it settled in gentle waves instead of violent surges. The sky above felt… open again.
Shunya stood where the last fragment of the swarm had disappeared.
His hand was still slightly raised.
Not because he was ready to fight again, but because his body had not yet realized there was nothing left to strike.
He lowered it slowly.
The silence that followed was not the kind that came after victory.
It was quieter than that.
Deeper.
As if something fundamental had stopped.
He exhaled. "…It's gone."
No one answered immediately.
Not because they disagreed.
But because they were confirming it in their own way.
Lei Tian was the first to relax, the lightning around his arms dimming until it faded completely.
"…Yeah," he said, almost thoughtfully. "This time, it actually is."
