The figure began to unravel.
Its mana screamed—not aloud, but in resonance. A ripping, flailing, panicked collapse, as though it had never been built to survive contact with something so original. So raw.
Damien didn't move.
He just watched.
As the figure—so fluid, so fast, so feared—began to disintegrate.
Not burned. Not shattered.
Unwritten.
Its limbs collapsed into haze, its cloak folded into static, its mask cracked inwards—then shattered silently into glasslike fragments before vanishing entirely.
By the time the air stabilized, there was nothing left but a faint residue curling at Damien's feet like smoke from a candle just snuffed.
He blinked once.
Then slowly, his hand lowered.
Behind him, the system chimed again.
-----------------
[System Notice]
Entity: [Unidentified Higher-Origin Construct] has been neutralized.
Residual trace: 4.3% Authority identified.
Analyzing trace…
Another pause. A deeper note, subtle and final.
[System Notice]
