When Kael finally managed to breach the door, he froze.
The sight before him was worse than anything he had ever imagined.
The room was almost unrecognizable—scorched walls, shattered stone, and the thick stench of blood and smoke clinging to the air. Dead bodies lay scattered across the floor, their shapes twisted and burned beyond recognition.
And yet, in the middle of it all, standing before a blood-soaked wall, was something that might once have been a person.
It was still alive.
Barely.
Cursed flames clung to its body, devouring what was left of it inch by inch. One wing was torn completely off, and part of its face had melted into something that should not have been able to smile—and yet, it did.
More than that, despite it all, that thing… that being was still laughing.
The sound clawed through the air, uneven and sharp, echoing against the walls like the laughter of someone who had gone completely mad.
But somehow Kael didn't think so.
