Silence.
The Leviathans were gone. Their massive corpses floated in pieces across the void, drifting slowly, dissolving into streaks of soul light that flickered out like embers in a dead wind.
Their howls had faded, their pressure lifted, but the void remained heavy, like the aftermath of a storm that had only paused to catch its breath.
The battlefield was still, but it wasn't peaceful. It was waiting.
And in the center of it all, the Heart pulsed.
No longer guarded, it beat faster now. A deep, thunderous sound that resonated through bone and blood.
Its glow shifted from pale blue to urgent gold, then crimson, then back again, a frantic cycle of warning, fury, and defiance. Each pulse sent small ripples of energy outward, brushing the group with a rising tide of tension.
Lilith stood closest to it, her legs trembling. Her skin bore the map of her battle. Soul burns carved across her arms and cheeks, thin cracks in her flesh where raw light leaked like blood.
