The Crucible did not slow.
The one hundred and second hammer fell.
The impact drove Luca's body into the stone hard enough that the rune-etched floor fractured outward in a spiderweb of glowing cracks. Magma surged immediately to fill them, crawling up his sides, flooding torn muscle and shattered bone with merciless heat. His scream tore free again—raw, unfiltered, stripped of anything resembling restraint.
"Aaaaaahhh—!!"
The sound ripped through Forgeheart like a living thing.
Aurelia slammed both hands against the barrier, her entire body shaking now, tears streaking down her face as she turned desperately toward the elders' platform.
"Please—!" she cried, voice breaking. "Stop it! Please stop it!"
She stumbled forward, clutching at the edge of the rune-wall as if it were the only thing keeping her upright.
"Master—!" she shouted, turning toward Elder Hilda. "Please! He's going to die! You can't let this continue—!"
Elder Hilda did not look away from the arena.
