Under the bright galaxy light, the once-quaking ground turned still, as if nature itself had paused to observe the scene. Hildred, fists clenched tightly with the tension of coiled steel, stepped forward from his Astro force. Each step landed with the weight of silent determination, like a warrior trained to march through fear, not around it, but the glistening sweat tracing down his brow betrayed the storm brewing within him
Everything fell into a heavy silence, the kind that crushes sound under its weight, and makes every breath feel borrowed. Even the surroundings seemed to hold their breath, save for the occasional, distant growls of the Primordial beasts echoing beyond the smoke-choked haze of Born Dust, an eerie lullaby in an otherwise breathless void. Tension coiled in the air, alive and pulsing, its rhythm rising and falling like the chest of a sleeping giant.
Then, without warning, the intermittent roars faded into nothingness.
