When Lucian expected a storm, everything inside the dome had gone still.
The chaos from earlier had vanished as if it had never happened. The mist that had once churned violently now drifted like morning fog, soft and harmless. Flowers that had been twisting in distress stood tall again, their petals opening to the light.
It looked exactly as it was supposed to… serene, beautiful and ethereal.
Seraphina's brows furrowed as her gaze landed on the man lying motionless near the entrance. His uniform was stained with pale frost and streaks of gold dust, his breathing shallow.
"What happened to him?" she asked, stepping closer.
Sebastian knelt beside the man, fingers brushing his wrist. "He was one of the gardeners caught in the first wave of mana release," he explained, his voice tight. "The mist burned through his life force faster than anything I've seen. He's barely holding on."
