I took a long breath and deactivated Node 3.
The surge of power that had been flooding my body began to recede, like a tide rolling back from the shore. My muscles loosened, the buzzing in my veins quieted, and the sharp weight of Essence consumption began to ease.
I lowered my arm, letting the repulsion-coated gauntlet vanish back into vapor. The silver glow faded.
The wind settled. The battlefield… didn't.
I turned slowly, my boots crunching against the broken stone just beneath the castle wall.
What greeted me was a scene of a frozen picture.
Hundreds of Holt soldiers, scattered across the field, bloodied and exhausted, stood paralyzed. Many of them had witnessed the last moments of David's life. Now they were looking at me like I wasn't human. Like I was some myth that had stepped out of the skies to slaughter a legend.
Some dropped their weapons. Some held onto them with trembling hands.
