The system's words hovered in the air like a verdict carved into reality itself.
ZHAL'MORTIS — DEFEATED BY KAEL ASHFORD.
LEVEL COMPLETED.
The letters glowed in cold silver light, then slowly dissolved into fragments of astral dust. As they vanished, the pressure that had weighed on my chest since entering this domain finally loosened.
But my grip on the sword did not.
Zhal was still there.
He stood in front of him and his sword blade hovering just a finger's breadth from his forehead.
Kael's arms was trembled from exhaustion so deep it felt like his bones were hollow.
The strength elixirs still burned in his veins, forcing his body to stand upright even as his consciousness begged him to collapse.
The Domain around them began to crumble. Cracks spread across the black stone floor like spiderwebs, light seeping through from somewhere far beyond. The oppressive shadows that once swallowed the hall recoiled, thinning, retreating.
