The faint glimmer in the ash pulsed once—twice—like the heartbeat of a dying beast that refused to accept death.A low hum spread across the broken coliseum, the sound of fractured essence fighting to reassemble itself.
Aria's eyes widened. She staggered forward, green fire licking along her arm as she raised her grimoire."No. Don't you dare crawl back!"
Her vines lashed out, wrapping the glowing ember in a cocoon of burning thorns. The miasma hissed against the flames, shrieking as it struggled to seep through.
But Fenric lifted a hand, his silver fire igniting again—calm, deliberate."Wait."
Aria snapped toward him, furious. "Wait? If we let it breathe, it'll rise again!"
Laxin, coughing blood, dragged himself upright on chains that barely held form. His grin wavered, but his voice cut sharp through the tension."She's not wrong, Fen. That thing doesn't quit. You saw it—fear's baked into its marrow. It'll come back worse if we let it."
