Brother Shadow lifted his hand, and the darkness pooled at his feet rippled like oil.
From it, another shadow peeled itself upward—thin, crooked, and shrieking with the layered agony of a thousand trapped voices.
He didn't even look at it when he issued the command.
"The Dragon Patriarch hid the Mother Womb before I arrived."
His voice sharpened.
"Find it. Check every dragon in the world. His final act would've been to pass it to a caretaker. Search below the Veil if you must."
He flicked his fingers dismissively.
"Just bring it to me."
The shadow creature tilted its head backward and emitted a sound like a choir of dying ghosts—
and then it streaked off into the darkness.
Brother Shadow vanished soon after, slipping away like a fading dream
Hours Later, at the fall of Night
A soft pink glow descended from the sky, scattering petals of light across the ruined wasteland.
A woman landed gently on the broken stone, her gown made of falling cherry-blossom light.
