Lan's breathing slowed.
His shoulders rose and fell in silence.
He could feel his body shaking—pain laced through his arms and legs, old wounds aching, new ones bleeding freely. But the pain didn't matter now. Not anymore.
Before him, Thread still moved behind the broken altar, bleeding and laughing through bloodied teeth, his madness undiminished.
Behind that, the battle continued to spiral further into chaos. Mana beasts screeched and roared, overwhelming his men. He could hear Venom's pained growl. Halmer's war cry. He was uncertain if Thorn was still alive.
Lan's fingers tightened around the hilt of Devil's Lie.
He whispered to himself.
"…It's been a while."
His voice was almost a sigh, faint as the wind.
"But this is the only way."
He stepped forward and let his eyes close.
The battlefield vanished from sight. Not just the temple ruins or the enemies. Even sound fell away. In that void, in the breath between breaths, something began.
A soundless ring.
