High above the battlefield, Virion watched as the spatial tear detonated—his emerald eyes locked onto Aman's figure until the very last moment.
His power had already begun weaving around the boy, ready to snatch him from death's grasp at any moment.
Then—
The shadowy hands seized Aman.
Virion's power surged forward—
—only for a sudden, vicious mental attack to lance through his mind like a white-hot spear.
For a fraction of a second, his control wavered, his protection around Aman flickered—
—and the explosion swallowed the boy whole.
By the time Virion shook off the assault, it was too late.
His gaze snapped toward the woman beside him.
She smiled apologetically, raising her hands. "Sorry, Ancient One. I had a deal with—"
Virion didn't let her finish.
With a mere thought, space itself contorted around her body—
—and she shattered like glass, fragments dissolving into motes of light.
"Tch." Virion's tail lashed. "A clone."
His form blurred, vanishing from the sky.
