Ethan’s Decision

The Silence After Kael's Vanishing

The battlefield stretched in eerie stillness, a frozen landscape of ruin beneath a fractured sky. No storms raged. No violet Rift distortions crackled through the air. The heavens, once marred by chaos, hung silent—gray and unyielding, as if the world itself held its breath.

Ethan stood at the heart of the desolation, his golden aura flickering faintly like the last embers of a dying fire. His longsword hung at his side, its runes dim, its edge still stained with the echoes of battle. A slow exhale left his lips, forming a wisp of white mist against the cold. His golden eyes shimmered before their glow briefly faded. His fingers trembled—just for an instant—before he curled them into a fist, steadying himself.

Kael was gone.