He turned to Mira, to Vaelin, to Eldara, to the ones who had chosen to stand beside him despite not knowing the truth.
"Are you with me?"
Mira's jaw clenched. "Do you really need to ask?"
Vaelin gave a sharp nod.
Eldara smirked. "Always."
Jude exhaled. The fire in his veins **answered.**
Then the sky **shattered.**
And the battle for everything began.
Jude barely had time to brace himself before the world **came apart.** The sky cracked wide like glass under pressure, and from the darkness beyond, something **pushed through.** It was vast, shifting, wrong, something that did not belong in this world but had forced its way in nonetheless. The very air trembled in its presence, as if reality itself recognized the intruder and recoiled. Jude felt the fire inside him respond, not with fear, but with an almost **eager recognition.** The flames within him burned brighter, as if they, too, remembered. As if they had been waiting for this moment.
