Olivier lunged, but Gabriel was already moving.
There was no drawn-out fight, no final desperate plea. The air turned razor-sharp with ether as Gabriel's hand met Olivier's chest, fingers splayed across the place where a heart might've once beat with anything other than envy. His palm glowed gold, burnished by fury and tethered memory.
The burst of ether that followed was violent, raw, like metal being torn from bone. Olivier convulsed mid-step, his scream caught between teeth and blood, mouth open too wide as the force burned through his body. His soul, already fractured, couldn't withstand it.
Olivier fell with a wet sound, like something was ripped out of him.
What hit the ground was not a body, not even a corpse. Just remnants. A ruined vessel emptied so completely that even the shard couldn't pretend anymore.
Gabriel exhaled.
The shard collapsed behind him, disintegrating into dust.
He turned.
