Damian's palanquin stood some distance away from the battlefield. Through the open window, the destruction was impossible to ignore.
The Northern Palace was gone.
In its place lay a crater nearly a hundred metres deep, its edges extending across what had once been a thriving district of the Imperial Capital. Every building within fifty miles of the palace had been destroyed so thoroughly that not even their ashes remained. Streets, marketplaces, noble residences, and entire neighbourhoods had vanished beneath the force of Sol's attack. The surrounding landscape had been reduced to scorched earth, broken foundations, and enormous stretches of barren ground.
There was no sign of the soldiers who had occupied the area moments earlier.
No weapons. No armour. No bodies.
