[Location: Morningstar Manor, New York]
Zeraphira's voice cut through, dangerously low. "I will protect Darling with this power," she said, her tone trembling like a volcano moments before eruption. The molten glow around her armour pulsed, waves of crimson energy radiating through the courtyard, warping the air itself.
"Zera—wait—" I started, but Gabriel raised a single glowing hand, her halo spinning once like a warning light.
The world froze.
Not metaphorically—literally.
Air halted mid-sway, grass stilled like glass filaments, and even the dust motes hung motionless in the golden light bleeding from Gabriel's halo. The divine pressure radiating from her palm crashed against the raw, volcanic aura pouring out of Zeraphira's body. The collision didn't explode—it suspended. The courtyard became a vacuum of clashing intent.
And then—
BOOM.
