Kaelen remained on his hands and knees for a long time, the silence of the caldera ringing in his ears like the aftermath of a massive bell toll. Between his trembling, blistered hands, the small, tranquil orb of violet light continued to hum. It felt warm, radiating a gentle, rhythmic vibration that perfectly matched the beating of his own heart. The overwhelming, suffocating pressure of the peak had vanished. In its place was a profound, crystalline clarity.
He slowly opened his right hand, releasing his biological anchor. The violet orb did not explode or lash out. It simply drifted upward, dissolving harmlessly into the freezing mountain air like a puff of breath in the winter.
"It wasn't trying to destroy," Kaelen whispered, his voice a raw, ragged rasp. He slumped back onto the pri
