The world felt unnaturally still.
Not a whisper of wind stirred the broken trees. Not the distant beat of war drums. Not even the faint tremor of the Earth beneath their feet.
It was as if the land itself was holding its breath.
At the very epicenter stood Cambria Vale radiant and terrible, a living paradox cloaked in raw, crackling energy. Molten gold veins traced intricate patterns beneath her skin, pulsing with the rhythm of a heartbeat far greater than any mortal's. Her eyes burned like twin suns ablaze with celestial fire, piercing through the smoke and ruin that still clung to the battlefield around her.
All around, the shattered remnants of Seraphine's cathedral lay in ruined towers toppled, stained glass shattered, and ancient stonework crumbling into dust. Above, the sky churned with an unnatural vortex of silver and shadow, swirling like the eye of a cosmic storm.
Silence reigned. Yet, somehow, the entire world listened.
