The claw plunged through his chest.
Seth’s eyes widened as the grotesque angel’s talon drove straight through him, bursting from his back in a spray of blackened blood. The world froze. The sound died. All that remained was the wet, tearing sound of flesh giving way.
He tried to breathe—but nothing came. His lungs refused him. His heart convulsed once… twice… then stopped.
Lyria’s scream echoed somewhere distant, muffled by the rushing in his ears. He saw her reaching for him through the haze, face streaked with tears and ash. Darius lay motionless beside her, and the world dimmed.
The claw withdrew. His body crumpled to the ground, lifeless.
Everything faded into black.
For a moment, there was peace.
No pain. No noise. No Tower.
Just the void.
Then the System broke.
A sound like
