Ethan's eyes widened as the force pushed against him, the crimson energy whipping around them like a violent storm.
"Elara!"
She rose from the ground.
Her feet lifted several inches into the air, then a metre, then several more, until she hovered high above them. Her silky hair streamed around her as crimson energy coiled across her body, forming patterns that looked less like ordinary mana and more like living veins.
"Elara, can you hear me?"
Her face twisted in pain.
For one fleeting moment, Ethan saw the woman he knew struggling beneath the surface. Her eyes widened, her lips parted, and her trembling hands reached towards him.
Then, her expression changed.
The pain vanished, her body went completely still, and a smile slowly spread across her face.
It wasn't Elara's smile.
Ethan felt his stomach drop.
He knew that presence.
