The Nova Sanctum cut through the sky like a blade. Its shadow stretched wide across the valleys below, its engines silent but steady, a floating omen no nation could ignore.
The wolves were gone. Nothing but ash and silence where their packs had once howled. But the Sanctum did not pause. It drifted eastward, its course steady, its belly glowing faint with the hum of weapons waiting to strike.
Inside, the crew felt the weight of what had been done. Karl paced the hangar like a caged beast, his claws twitching, fire curling between his fingers. Lucy sat sharpening Infernal Eclipse in silence, each stroke against the blade cutting sparks into the air. Kaelis, small again, rested on Lucian's shoulder, smoke curling lazily from his nostrils, his eyes half-closed but sharp beneath the lids.
Lucian stood in the control room, cloak loose, his hand pressed against the central console as Alfred's voice filled the space.
