Kael lay on the cold stone floor, his vision still hazy from the fight with Erathis. The victory tasted bitter, like ashes in his mouth. He had won, yes—but at what cost? The Heart's power, the force that had driven Erathis to madness, now thrummed within him, a dark, unrelenting presence just beneath the surface.
Morgana knelt beside him, her hand resting on his shoulder, grounding him in the present. Her face was a mixture of relief and worry, her eyes searching his as if looking for something to hold onto.
"You can fight this, Kael," she whispered, her voice a gentle anchor in the storm that raged inside him. "We've come too far to lose you now."
Kael clenched his fists, feeling the power course through him, pressing against his control, testing his resolve. "This isn't just another battle, Morgana. This... thing inside me... it's not just power. It's alive. It's like it has a will of its own."
