Chapter 37: The Ashes of Victory
The silence that followed the spire's fall was more deafening than any explosion. For a long, suspended moment, the entire city seemed to hold its breath, the usual hum of life extinguished by the shockwave of the relic's death throes. Then, as the last of the secondary explosions flickered out against the brightening sky, a new sound rose from the streets below Silverfang Keep—a hesitant, then swelling roar of triumph. They had won.
In the command center, the eruption of cheers was visceral, a cathartic release of weeks of pent-up terror and tension. Operators hugged, Finn whooped, slamming his console in victory. But on the observation deck, the atmosphere was different. Quieter. More profound.
