For a fleeting moment, the entire ruined city was enveloped in an eerie silence, the kind that hangs heavy just before chaos erupts.
In that brief pause, Sage and Riven faced each other across the shattered ground, their eyes locked in a tense yet calm exchange filled with everything that had built up since their last encounter.
The wind drifted lazily through cracked buildings and desolate streets, stirring dust into thin streams that twisted like smoke. Surrounding them were hundreds of figures, frozen in place, watching, waiting, with hands resting on weapons and bodies coiled tight as if ready to spring at the slightest cue.
Not a word was spoken; not by Gregor or Brutus or Caelis, nor even Mina, who for once remained silent, her small hands clenched tightly as she gazed at the man responsible for so much suffering.
Valeria stood at the front with her sword poised lightly in hand, her crimson eyes fixed on Riven with an intensity sharper than any blade.
