The battlefield froze for a single, breathless moment as the blinding light swallowed both kings.
When the radiance began to fade, the Kalous King emerged first. His body bore scorched patches of burned flesh, and his scales were cracked and blackened, but the damage was shallow. He had not been the true target of the attack.
Then, rising from the dissipating blast, came the Aztorus King.
His condition was far worse.
Half of Eonar's face had been calcined into lifeless gray stone, the flesh burned away so thoroughly that fragments crumbled with every movement. His left arm was gone entirely—reduced to a jagged stump of fused bone and ash. Even his regal armor had melted into his body, warped beyond recognition.
Yet despite those horrific wounds, Eonar did not hesitate.
The instant he regained balance, he swung the Blade of the End of Times with everything he had left.
