John sat by Cissel's side, watching her calm and peaceful face as if he were seeing her for the first time without the grime of battle or the shadow of the fog masking her features.
The contrast was striking; here was a woman who could dance through a horde with lethal grace, now looking as fragile as porcelain in her deep sleep. John took out a piece of the cooked meat Elena had prepared earlier and drank fresh water from a flask.
At this moment, even with the thumping of explosions and the distant roars of the yellow monster wave echoing all around him, he couldn't help but feel slightly blessed.
He ended up with a faint smile on his face, a rare moment of introspection washing over him. He recalled how he had started this journey, an arrogant, young hacker who thought the world began and ended at the edge of his keyboard.
