The gray cloud drifted through the silent void for a moment, wavering as if feeling the rips in space, then thinned, broke apart, and faded to nothing. Sszhar narrowed its eyes at the vanishing mist and let a low hiss roll through the pocket dimension.
Everything in front of it suggested a simple outcome: the strange man had finally died, leaving not even a scrap behind. Yet Sszhar was a wild Spark; it did not follow logic. It listened to the pull of its instincts, to the tiny alarms that pricked along its scales.
A ripple split the pocket realm like a hairline crack sliding across glass. Sszhar triggered Riftwalk and slipped through the fold, returning to the Legacy Domain, where everything still crumbled in slow plates and curls.
Just as it had suspected, Adyr was there with his wings spread, the feathers tilted to catch the stuttering air. A small, needling smile sat on his face.
"Hey, what took you so long?"
