The world didn't end with a bang; it ended with the taste of copper and the sound of my own heartbeat drumming against my eardrums like a funeral march.
The explosion had ripped the roof off Maricha Sonoko’s underground sanctuary, turning the vineyard above into a rain of fire and shattered glass. I lay on the central pedestal, my body radiating a heat so intense it felt like my bones were melting into the metal. The indigo energy I had released the "bomb" I had tried to become hadn't killed me. It had just stripped away the last layer of my humanity, leaving the Source exposed like a raw nerve.
"Elena!"
The voice was ragged, torn by smoke and desperation. I turned my head, my vision blurred by a violent purple haze. Through the swirling dust, I saw Silas. He was crawling toward me, his
