The tears fell.
Salt and stardust mixing as they dropped through weightless space.
Each droplet carrying fragments of divine essence.
The gears collapsed.
Bronze shrieking against bronze.
Metal screaming as ancient mechanisms tore apart.
The sound like a thousand bells breaking simultaneously.
The entire trial breaking.
From grief.
The air tasting of copper and ozone.
Of magic unraveling.
From emotion.
My chest aching with each sob.
Ribs feeling too small to contain the howling inside.
From love that destroyed.
Astro ancient and dying.
His form flickering like a guttering candle.
Bronze fur dulling to gray.
Each breath rattling through failing lungs.
Other wolves screaming at me.
Their voices echoing through the collapsing chamber.
Desperation sharp in every word.
"Stop crying!"
"You're killing us!"
Their forms beginning to fade.
Dissolving at the edges.
Losing coherence.
"End this!"
But I couldn't.
Couldn't stop the tears.
