The bright light dissipated, leaving behind an empty, scorched circle on the floor where Alex had kneeled. Vanessa and Alenia stood momentarily frozen, disbelief etched on their faces. The silence in the room was deafening, save for the faint crackling of residual mana dissipating into the air.
"He's gone..." Alenia whispered, her voice barely audible, her fists catching the last flicker of white left in the air.
Vanessa's nails dug into her palms as well. She was no stranger to desperate acts—she had been in situations where she had to do things she wouldn't normally do—but what Alex had just done went beyond recklessness. He had willingly thrown himself into the unknown with no guarantee of survival.
"That idiot..." Vanessa growled, her voice trembling with frustration and fear. 'I shouldn't have waited for him to move.'
She couldn't believe she let this be—that she let this happen.
BAAM!