Chapter Twenty-Five
Pain was the first thing I felt.
Not the dull ache of bruises or the sharp sting of a cut. This was deeper. A crushing force that spread through my chest and lungs as if the air itself had turned solid.
For several seconds I could not move.
The world spun around me in flashes of fire and smoke.
Then sound returned.
Screaming.
Buildings collapsing.
And the low, triumphant rumble of Varakoth’s laughter echoing across the ruined city.
I forced my eyes open.
The sky above Ardent Vale burned orange with firelight. Thick smoke twisted upward into the night where the storm had once been.
But the storm was gone now.
The seal had failed.
And the Titan still stood.
I pushed myself onto my elbows with a groan.
Every muscle in my body protested.
Across the shattered
