The silence that followed Loren’s destruction was deafening. Dust floated through the air like frozen smoke, drifting down in lazy spirals and settling on broken metal and cracked tiles. Natalie’s chest heaved as she held Daniel tightly, his small body trembling against hers. The boy’s glowing blue eyes flickered faintly, evidence of the residual energy that had just surged through him and Adrian.
Adrian groaned on the floor, blood trickling down his temple. His breaths were shallow, labored, but he moved — just barely. He raised a hand, brushing dust from his jacket, and looked at the wreckage around them. The facility had changed in an instant: cables snaked across the floor like metallic serpents, monitors sparked intermittently, and walls groaned as if mourning the chaos.
Natalie’s e
