The silence that followed was heavy and aching, the kind of silence that didn't just exist between breaths, but between worlds.
The faint hum of mana still whispered through the air like the echo of a fading song, and the fractured remnants of the Abyssal void drifted above like ghostly embers, dissolving into nothing.
Celeste clung tightly to her mother, trembling, her body still scorched and cracked in several places. Her flames had gone out entirely, and for someone born of Ancient Demon Fire, that emptiness was more terrifying than death itself.
"Mom… I…" Her voice broke, the words dissolving into shallow, shaky breaths, "He... we couldn't, "
Ysvara's hair brushed against Celeste's forehead as she held her close. Her hands, warm and gentle despite their divine power, rested on her daughter's back. The faint glow of her wings illuminated the darkened earth in soft, serene hues of moonlight.
