Arthur lay on his back, the coarse, granular soil pressing against the folds of his scorched clothing, his lungs straining with every breath as steam rose from the healing burns on his skin.
For a long moment, he simply stared up at the alien sky above him, his mind caught between lucidity and chaos.
He recalled the roar of the cosmic blast swallowing his ship and space cracking open like a shattered mirror.
Now, all he could hear was his own breath, the slow, unsteady rhythm of his heart, and the distant, soft howl of wind moving across the barren landscape.
He didn't know how long it took, but he was eventually able to push himself up and stare into the distance, his eyes catching sight of the remnants of the destroyed realm, an image of what had just transpired that would linger for months.
"What the hell just happened...?" he whispered aloud, more to himself than to the Ego Weapons with him.
"Where... where did everything go wrong?"
There was no immediate answer.
