Smoke still lingered in the air as the crater slowly cooled, molten cracks glowing beneath the scorched earth. Ash fell like snow, soft and quiet. The once-grand garden now resembled a battlefield from an ancient war.
Luci stood tall at the edge of the crater, arms still chained, eyes burning like twin suns. His half-burned shirt fluttered in the wind, revealing more of the glowing inscriptions etched across his chest and shoulders—ancient demonic script pulsing with quiet power.
Christian stared in awe, barely breathing.
Brian, still slightly drunk, leaned over to him. "Do you think… if we serve him enough chicken, he'll spare us in the apocalypse?"
Luci turned slightly. "I can hear you, you know."
Brian straightened, coughing. "Er, respectfully, of course."
Suddenly, the wind shifted.
A high-pitched, humming vibration buzzed through the castle walls. Knights all around the kingdom lifted their heads, sensing something… off. Something wrong.
