The moment the blue-white light vanished from Ryan's eyes, the tense, silent atmosphere in the antechamber broke. He stood there, breathing heavily, looking a bit shaky but very much alive. He had a triumphant, slightly wild look on his face, like someone who had just won a very difficult argument.
Scarlett was at his side in a flash. The invisible force that the Apex had used to hold her back was gone. She didn't say anything. She just grabbed his arm, her grip firm and steady, a silent anchor in the strange, timeless room. He leaned on her, just for a second, a quiet moment of shared victory.
The other gods in the room reacted to his victory in their own, unique ways.
