The camp settled into a deep quiet, broken only by the soft crackle of the dying fire and the even breathing of the sleeping forms in their tents. One by one, they had wished Julian a good night before retreating to their rest, leaving him alone by the embers.
"I'll join you shortly," he had said, his voice a low murmur. "There's something I need to do."
Now, under the canopy of stars, he stood. The cool night air brushed against his skin, but he focused inward, on the new power thrumming within him—the Indomitable Body he had torn from Gideon.
He could feel its nature: a passive, immensely durable fortification woven into his very flesh and bones. It wasn't a skill to be activated, but a state of being. His curiosity, ever clinical, turned to experimentation. Could it be a foundation? Could he build upon it?
