The battlefield hung in silence, though chaos raged all around. Zaria’s sword hovered at Drevon’s throat, the flames along its edge crackling like thunder waiting to strike. Her heart pounded against her ribs, not from fear, but from the weight of the choice before her.
Kill him, and the shadow might crumble. Spare him, and perhaps it would grow stronger. Either path could save her people or damn them all.
“Zaria!” Damian’s voice rang out as he cut through another lashing tendril, his strength barely holding against the beast’s relentless assault. “Decide now, or we all fall!”
The monster roared, its voice like grinding stone. More tendrils broke from the river, thick as trees, tearing chunks of earth and hurling them into the air. Warriors scattered, regrouped, struck back with everyth
