Chapter 28: Echoes After the Storm
The cathedral lay in ruins. Moonlight streamed through the shattered ceiling, illuminating the debris and dust that drifted silently in the air. The once-thundering storm of light and shadow had faded, leaving only silence in its wake.
Le Wai stood among the wreckage, his blade lowered at his side. Every muscle in his body screamed in exhaustion, but his spirit refused to collapse. His eyes lingered on the spot where Jian's form had vanished, the echoes of his final words still haunting him.
Mei Lin approached slowly, her steps unsteady from battle. Blood streaked her arm, yet her expression was steady. She placed a hand gently on Le Wai's shoulder.
"You did what had to be done," she said softly.
Le Wai's gaze remained distant. "I didn't save him. I only ended his pain."
Mei Lin shook her head. "Sometimes mercy is the only salvation left. Jian wasn't the man you knew anymore. He was… consumed."
Le Wai closed his eyes, her words sinking deep. For a brief moment, the weight of years lifted—only to be replaced by a heavier burden.
As the night wind swept through the ruins, the runes across the floor flickered weakly before fading into darkness. Yet as they died out, Le Wai noticed something strange.
A fragment of one rune remained glowing faintly, pulsing with energy unlike before. It wasn't the same shadow Jian wielded—this was something deeper, more ancient.
Mei Lin followed his gaze. "That's not his power… is it?"
Le Wai crouched, his fingers hovering above the faintly glowing sigil. A cold shiver ran through him. "No. This wasn't Jian's doing. He was only a pawn."
The realization settled like ice in his chest. Jian hadn't been the mastermind—not truly. Someone else had been pulling the strings from the shadows, feeding his hatred, twisting his grief into a weapon.
Mei Lin's expression hardened. "Then the real enemy is still out there."
Le Wai rose to his feet, his exhaustion giving way to renewed determination. He looked out through the broken arch of the cathedral, where the city lay quiet under the moon.
"This battle is over," he murmured. "But the war has only just begun."
The faint glow of the rune died at last, leaving only the cold silence of the ruins. Yet in that silence, Le Wai felt it—the stirring of something vast and dangerous, waiting beyond the horizon.
And when it came, he knew neither he nor Mei Lin would face it unscathed.