A white light descended without warning, engulfing the battlefield in blinding radiance. King felt the familiar sensation of teleportation, the brief moment where reality ceased to exist.
When the light faded, he stood inside the Victorian estate.
Their original base, before the Second Woe had forced them out into the territories. The polished stone floors gleamed under artificial lighting. The reinforced walls stood intact, untouched by the months of warfare that had ravaged the outside world.
Vi materialized beside him. She blinked, adjusting to the sudden change in environment. Eli appeared next, Maya cradled carefully in his arms. The child looked around with quiet curiosity, seemingly unbothered by the abrupt transition.
The room was silent.
None of them spoke. The weight of what they'd experienced hung heavy in the air between them, an invisible barrier that words couldn't penetrate. Three months of constant combat, endless death, it had taken a toll on all of them.
