The stench of smoke hung thick in the air. Black soot coated the ancient ruins like a funeral shroud.
And in the middle of the devastation, surrounded by half-conscious survivors and scattered debris, lay a smoldering figure.
Kaelen's heart dropped.
"NEAL!"
He rushed past the others, shoving aside debris, leaping over craters and dropped to his knees beside the body.
The armor was completely burnt through. Even the only thing that was left of it, his skin was blackened, charred, cracked like dying embers. His right arm was gone and there was no movement from him at all.
But his lifeforce was weakly hanging on between the edge of nihility and existence.
An Epic-class healer was already kneeling beside him, her hands glowing bright with green light.
"Come on, come on, come on…"
She gritted her teeth, furious tears welling in her eyes.
Why… Why is it always me? He was just a kid!
Her magic surged again, brighter this time, as she poured everything she had into Neal.
