The Next Day

As the sun rose over the battlefield, Lena stood at the helm of the fleet, watching as the Rhytil prepared for their next strike. The moment of decision was approaching.

The Alliance was preparing for a full-scale assault on the Rhytil flagship, their last hope of winning this war. Lena knew the stakes, but she also knew the price. The core's influence had never been so strong.

But as she surveyed the battlefield, the faces of her people, her allies, she realized that the true cost wasn't just the victory itself. It was the toll it would take on her—and on all of them.

Tavon had given her a lifeline, but it wasn't enough. The war, the decisions, the core—it was all beginning to crush her.

And the Rhytil weren't about to make it any easier.