Capital Front: The Iron Circle Holds

POV: Captain Riven Darse

Smoke blackened the skies over Aurelian.

The capital was chaos incarnate—shattered glass rained from high towers, sirens howled like wounded animals, and distant explosions rumbled through the streets like thunder swallowed by steel. Panic spread faster than flame. Citizens trampled one another in the alleys, slipping on blood-slick stone, while volunteer medics screamed orders drowned out by the roar of collapsing buildings.

Hunter beacons blinked red across the skyline, signaling breach zones. Portals twisted open above rooftops, bleeding shadow and shrieking wind.