The creature advanced with a dragging scrape of voidsteel, its purple blade pulsing like a dying star.
Aubrelle, blind and trembling, reached out into the darkness.
"P-Please… someone—help me…"
The creature didn't hesitate.
It lunged.
A single, swift arc of voidsteel cut through the air—
SHHK—!
Pain exploded across her face as the blade slashed over both eyes, carving a burning line of agony and plunging her into absolute darkness.
Aubrelle screamed—
but the sound was drowned by something far louder.
WHUMPH—!
Light erupted behind her—blue, violent, alive. The garden ignited with ethereal radiance as petals rose from the ground and dissolved into glowing dust.
Above her, a sphere of azure brilliance cracked open—
a spiritual egg splitting apart midair.
KYRAAAAAAH!
A crystalline cry shattered the night.
Blue flames spiraled downward, coalescing into wings—
too large, too fierce to belong to any ordinary familiar.
