Kael stared at the bodies of his mother, sister, and fiancée lying motionless on the ground—just like everyone else around them.
The only ones still standing were the soldiers who had just returned.
A soldier dropped to his knees beside the corpse of his younger brother. Tears formed and trickled down his face.
"Look around you. They're gone. They've been gone.
You see… love is a powerful thing. But grief? Grief is a chain. I let you hold on to that illusion—let you believe they waited for you. That your suffering had meaning. That your sacrifice was noble."
"But now… now you feel it, don't you? That hollow, sinking weight in your chest. It's not the loss. It's the truth.
That everything you fought for… was a lie."
The figure floating above spread its arms wide.
"But I'm generous—considerate, even. So I left them barely alive. What do you think of my gift for your victory?"
Kael felt something rise within him. Something he hadn't felt before.
It wasn't anger.
No—it was something far beyond that.
A wildfire surged through his chest, consuming every shred of reason and calm. His vision blurred—not from tears, but from sheer intensity. He could hear his own heartbeat pounding from within. His breath grew ragged. His muscles tensed to the point of trembling.
What this being said was true. He could feel it. They were still alive—but just barely. Seconds from death.
Everything they had fought for was on the verge of being lost.
And there was nothing they could do.
No—there was still one thing.
Kael unsheathed his weapon, and with one sudden motion, shot up toward the figure in the sky.
But he wasn't alone.
The Commander had launched forward as well—his speed slightly ahead of Kael's.
Their eyes burned with the same fury. The same desperation. The only thing left was to destroy whatever remnant of this cursed enemy remained.
As they neared the creature, its features became clearer.
It had two twisted horns—something no other Yel'vani possessed. Its glowing yellow eyes gleamed with sharp, calculating intelligence. Black markings coiled around its pale body, and its form resembled a human far more than the others ever had.
"Another mistake," it said with a calm, almost pitying tone.
With a casual wave of its hand, a force invisible yet cataclysmic surged forward.
Commander Revar sensed it and swung his sword, defiant even in the face of death.
But the moment contact was made, the result was clear.
Revar's body was shredded apart—bit by bit—until what little remained crashed to the ground like discarded rubble.
Kael's eyes slowly followed all this, widened in shock to say the least.
Their strongest warrior was gone in an instant.
Then came the second wave—this time, aimed at Kael.
He felt it.
Death.
A crushing, unstoppable force bearing down on him. And there was nothing—absolutely nothing—he could do to avoid it. He realized how truly powerless he was.
Slowly, random memories played within his mind. Something he never expected to happen.
His only wish was to spend more time with his family. His only regret—failing to protect them and avoiding this outcome.
There was nothing left to live for.
He had failed.
The invisible strike shot toward him. He closed his eyes, bracing himself.
But nothing happened.
He still breathed.
The force never arrived.
Considering the speed of the previous attack, this was strange.
He opened his eyes slowly… and what he saw shook him to his core.
Time had fractured.
Everything—wind, people, even the swirling dust in the air—was frozen. Suspended mid-motion, as though the world had been captured in a single breathless moment.
Then he saw them.
Thin, glowing blue threads woven through the air like veins of light, stretching endlessly in every single direction. They coiled through buildings, danced around frozen figures, and threaded through the sky itself. Some pulsed dimly with energy, while others shimmered in silent rhythm.
They weren't just lines.
They seemed alive.
Each one reacted to his slightest movement—rippling gently as he blinked. They wrapped around the world like some hidden, sacred framework.
Even the Yel'vani that had just tried to kill him was frozen in place.
Then a light appeared beside him—little at first, then growing, shifting, and transforming until it took shape.
A humanoid figure.
She stood above the world like a whisper woven from starlight.
Tall and graceful, she defied mortal comprehension. Her presence was serene… yet infinite. Her skin glowed with a pale, moonlit hue—untainted by shadow. Long white hair flowed down her back like rivers of silk, swaying gently despite the stillness.
Her eyes—deep, luminous blue—held the wisdom of countless ages. To look into them was to feel insignificant and eternal at once.
She wore a flowing gown of white and pale azure, trailing like mist. The fabric shimmered with soft, shifting patterns of celestial light, moving in rhythm with her energy—not the wind.
She didn't walk.
She glided—as though the world bent to her presence.
She was not of this world.
She was something more.
Something divine.
She looked at Kael and smiled softly, her voice calm and otherworldly.
"It's a good thing I arrived on time."