Aiden dropped to his knees in the rubble of the cathedral nave. The entity's avatar had shattered like glass under the final chain of hybrid energy. Dust and shards of corrupted light still rained down.
His body felt split in two—human meat and something far colder, far hungrier, now locked together by fresh bindings that burned every time he breathed.
He clenched his fist. Power surged up his arm, raw and obedient but edged with pain, like gripping a live blade. Not bad. He looked at the collapsed eastern wall where Morten's final barrage had punched through.
With a casual push of will, hybrid energy poured out. Black and gold strands wove together, pulling stone back into place with grinding cracks.
Chunks lifted, mortar reformed, and in seconds a section of wall stood again—uglier than before, veined with dark lines, but solid.
Aiden stood up. Stronger. Definitely stronger.
