Kael’s orange eyes locked onto Elara’s sharp green ones, her hand still gripping his. The black sands stretched around them, the Living Veil Sea’s waves hissing with red embers in the distance. Above, the Great Veil pulsed, its ghostly faces silent for now, their hollow eyes fixed on the pair. The single star still shone, a faint beacon through the fractured sky. Kael’s embered veins glowed faintly, his phoenix flames simmering after the fight, but exhaustion weighed on him. His tattered red scarf fluttered in the wind, matching the wild grin spreading across his face.


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