The wind tore across the night like a thousand unseen blades.
Catherine flew through the storm, four great wings slicing the black clouds, the glow of her divinity cutting swaths through thunder and shadow.
The air itself shuddered beneath her — every beat of her wings cracked with light, every surge of mana left streaks of burning gold behind her.
"Aros!" she roared into the endless dark, voice breaking like lightning against the sky. "Show yourself, coward! Where is he?!"
Her cry rippled through the storm. No answer came. Only the distant groan of the dungeon's chains — the ancient floating fortress that hung over the lands like a broken star.
Her eyes blazed brighter. "You can't hide from me!" she screamed again. "Give him back!"
Each word cost her more than she'd admit. Her wings trembled — divine feathers molting into sparks as her mana drained.
