The trial collapsed.
Gears falling.
Mechanisms breaking.
My wolf howling.
My tears flowing.
Destroying everything.
The metallic scent of breaking clockwork filled the air, sharp and acrid like copper mixed with ozone. Each gear that fell sang a different note—high crystalline pings, deep resonant clangs, the screech of bronze against silver. The sound cascaded around us, building into a symphony of destruction that made my bones vibrate.
Astro watched me.
Ancient.
Dying.
His body weakened by forced aging.
His time nearly spent.
The silver streaks in his hair caught the fragmenting light from above, turning from metallic shimmer to dull ash. His skin had taken on a papery quality, thin and translucent, showing the network of veins beneath like blue rivers under ice. When he breathed, his chest rattled—a sound like wind through hollow reeds.
And I was crying.
Still crying.
Couldn't stop.
My wolf wouldn't let me.
Integration prevented suppression.
