The silence that followed the Warden's fall was a fragile, sacred thing. It was the quiet of a world holding its breath, waiting to see if the disturbance would pass or bring the storm. The only sound was their own ragged breathing, each gasp a small, defiant prayer against the encroaching void.
Gao Lian was the first to break it, not with a word, but with a choked gasp of pain. She sank to her knees, clutching her hands to her chest. They were a raw, blistered red, the skin swollen and tight, as if she'd plunged them into a forge. The Jade Serpent's Coil had been a desperate, all-or-nothing surge of her life's essence, and the price was etched into her very flesh.
"Gao Lian," Yingluo rushed to her side, her own body aching in ways she didn't know were possible. "Your hands…"
