The silence after the monster's fading was heavy. It pressed into the cracks of the broken city like cold water filling old wounds.
Mob rose slowly from his knees.
His sword dissolved into light, drifting away in silent fragments. His wings stretched behind him, feathers trembling with each ragged breath he took. The faint flowers blooming around him glowed softly in the dawn light, their petals bending under the quiet wind.
He looked at them for a moment. Then his gaze lifted, golden eyes flickering in the dim morning. He could feel Lucifer's aura burning somewhere north—deep and heavy with grief and rage. He felt others there too. Broken. Tired. But still standing.
He exhaled shakily, his wings shifting once. Blood and tears mixed down his face, dripping onto the fractured pavement before he stepped forward.
