The cliff above the abyss still smoked.
Wind carried the stench of ash and burned stone, mixing with the copper tang of demon blood. Fires flickered in broken cracks, glowing like embers that refused to die.
We had survived Varaxis' test. But survival came with a price.
Selena leaned on her halberd, breath ragged. Her armor hung in shards, skin blistered from fire. Rena crouched on one knee, gripping her blades while blood dripped from her arms. Nana sat with his back against a broken wall, shield lying beside him. Clarissa pressed crimson liquid against wounds, her hair wet with sweat. Malrik's rift twitched open and shut, unstable after channeling too much void.
The fire dome had nearly crushed them.
I looked at them in silence. Noa pulsed inside my gauntlet, voice calm but low.
"My Lord, your army is at thirty-eight percent capacity. Recovery time required. Suggestion: rest before further engagements."
Rest. The word felt foreign in Hell.
But they deserved it.
