Ethan let out a long breath.
Alaric's presence had completely vanished. The lingering energy across the battlefield was slowly settling.
It was over.
The war was finally over.
He raised his hand, ready to reclaim the scattered energy drifting through the air—
Then suddenly—
The sky changed.
Not a tremor.
A distortion.
Far off, the clouds twisted unnaturally, as if wrung by invisible hands. A slow-spinning vortex unfurled high above, silent and ominous.
The next second—
A torrent of indescribable power poured out from its depths.
The air turned heavy in an instant. Light dimmed. Even breathing became a struggle.
This wasn't just an energy surge.
It felt like something that didn't belong to this world was forcing its way in.
Ethan's pupils shrank.
That power—
Overwhelming. Chaotic. Utterly alien.
But what truly made his heart clench was the strange undercurrent woven into the storm.
It wasn't death.
It wasn't destruction.
It was—devouring.
