The beam persisted for a heartbeat longer, a blinding column connecting the fortress to the planet, a display of power so absolute it was a statement to any who might think to challenge him again.
Then, with impossible control, it winked out of existence a mere meter above the planet's surface, the energy dissipated harmlessly into the air. It had delivered its payload of utter oblivion without so much as scratching the world beneath.
A profound silence enveloped Rex as he hovered like a solitary figure adrift in the wake of the devastation his anger had wrought.
The acrid scent of smoldering ruins filled the air, a stark testament to a power he had unleashed without restraint. With a cold, detached gaze, he observed the consequence of his fury, and a part of him felt as if he were watching his former self recede into the distance like a speck swallowed by the storm he had become.
