The sky was bleeding.
The last light of the setting sun burned across the horizon in streaks of crimson and gold, painting the sea with fire. Waves crashed onto the shore like distant war drums, echoing the chaos that had just unfolded.
And there, standing alone amidst the wreckage, was a woman in a blood-red dress.
It hadn't started red.
But after everything—after the fight, the wounds, the bodies—it was impossible to tell where the fabric ended and the blood began. Her hands were clenched around a long, splintered staff, its wood darkened with battle. Her arms trembled. Her face was pale, streaked with ash and blood.
Around her, men lay broken. Fallen. Silent.
She had stood against them all—and won.
Barely.
Behind her, shielded by the jagged embrace of coastal rocks, was something no one should have seen. Something too old, too sacred, too dangerous. A presence that pulsed faintly in the shadows, protected by her final breath.
She didn't turn to it. She didn't need to.
She had kept it safe.
Her breath was ragged. Her legs barely held her. But she stood her ground, the dying light of the sun painting her like a burning spirit, all fire and defiance.
And then—
Bwoooooooooom.
The deep, mournful blast of a conch horn shattered the stillness.
It rolled across the sea, through the cliffs, and into the bones of the world. The moment it rang out, the sky dimmed. The wind shifted. The tide held its breath.
Her eyes widened.
She knew that sound.
She had hoped she'd never hear it again.
Her lips parted. Blood spilled down her chin.
But her voice cut through the silence, steady and raw.
"I kept my promise…"
Her fingers loosened on the staff. It slid from her grasp and hit the ground beside her with a hollow crack.
She sank to her knees, body swaying like a candle about to burn out.
"…so now you have to keep yours."
Her eyes flicked upward, just once, as a strange glow flickered behind her—soft, pure, and impossibly bright. For a breathless moment, it bathed the blood-soaked sand in light.
Then—
Darkness.
The light vanished.
She fell.
And the sea, the sky, the world… all fell silent.