The aftermath of the medical bay crisis felt like a paused frame in a high-stakes cinematic drama, every brutal detail rendered with photorealistic clarity. The harsh, shadowless overhead lights caught the gleaming edges of the shattered tempered glass scattered across the sterile white tiles. The unconscious bodies of Marcus’s elite mercenaries lay exactly where they had fallen, their heavy tactical gear a stark contrast to the delicate, life-saving machinery humming in the background.
I pushed myself off the steel supply cabinet, my kinetic-weave armor feeling heavier than it ever had. The physical exhaustion from channeling the Purging Fire technique was profound, a deep, aching hollow in my core, but the adrenaline of the impending war was already beginning to fill the void.
Elara st
