The street ahead opened into a wider space, buildings pulling back as if the city itself had decided to stop pretending it was alive.
Noel slowed.
Not because he needed to, but because there was no longer any reason to rush.
The inner center of the city lay before them, empty in a way that felt heavier than ruins usually did. No scattered civilians. No panicked movement. No signs of recent evacuation. Just stone, cracked roads, and structures that still stood upright despite having lost their purpose. It felt less like a battlefield and more like a place that had simply been abandoned mid-breath.
Distant spellcasting still echoed through the streets behind them. Faint bursts of mana, flashes of color reflected against broken windows. The others were still fighting, still clearing what remained.
But those sounds were fading.
Noel stopped spending mana.
