"...You're fun," Taufik said, his voice almost fond, "but even the most fun thing must meet its end"
His katana vanished, dissolving into nothing. The shadows around him shivered, not in fear, but in reverence, as if even they knew what was coming.
The temperature plummeted. It was not the chill of winter, nor the creeping frost of night, it was the absence of heat, the point where warmth itself ceased to exist.
Dewdrops formed in the air, glistening like silver tears, moving with purpose, drawn toward him.
The rivers of magma hissed once, then solidified into black glass. Not because they cooled, but because their fire had met its natural predator.
Taufik looked at Malphas.
And Malphas shuddered.
Not from cold. Not from fear.
But because, in Taufik's eyes, he saw something every living thing recognizes without needing a name.
... The End.
"T... This-" Malphas began, but the words faltered in his throat.
