The Calm After the Inferno
As the black smoke thinned, Light stood in its center unshaken, unbothered.
He watched the heroes flee and found it amusing. If I had to fight myself, he thought, I'd run too.
The trees around him were dead. The plants scorched. His aura had vanished, leaving him looking almost human bruised, but intact.
He touched his chest, smirking. My strength knows no limits.
The inferno rage he'd never triggered before. Not even during his training with warlords, mortal and immortal. Not even under the tutelage of the Princes of Darkness.
And yet, it had come. Raw. Unfiltered. Divine.
He could chase them. He could end it now.
But why?
He'd already shown dominance. Thomas had crumbled. The wild man had power, yes but not like Thomas. Not that electrifying potential.
Thomas had me worried, Light admitted. But he hasn't mastered it yet. That makes him vulnerable.
In the woods, in the wild, Thomas wouldn't last. The creatures lurking beyond the cities would devour him. Light smiled at the thought.
Then he turned toward the perfect city, his creation, his kingdom.
"Time to head home," he whispered. "And begin the real mission."