The wrongness arrived like a taste in the air.
Every Eternal felt it at the same time.
Condoriano's wings stiffened.
Anvil-Horn's horn flared once, warning.
And inside the torn edge of the sky, Saber's Domain tightened as if its unseen teeth had sensed a larger jaw approaching.
Lucien did not need to speak for them to understand.
Their movements changed.
They began killing with the focus of beings who knew that the next minute might belong to something else.
Lucien blinked to Kaia first.
Her flame licked around her feet like impatient hounds. When he appeared beside her, her gaze snapped up instantly.
"Sister Kaia," Lucien said. "No more holding back. Go all out now."
Kaia's smile did not reach her eyes.
"I was about to say the same thing," she replied. Her voice dropped, suddenly serious. "My fire is warning me. It is flickering, Brother. It only flickers when something bad is about to happen."
Lucien's expression tightened.
