Lucas stood in the hushed ruins of the buried town, the shard in his fingers flickering faintly like a dying ember. His breath came in short bursts, the weight of Avery's absence crushing against his chest. Every second stretched out indefinitely, as if the area itself stopped to move forward without her.
Elena's voice broke the calm. "We need to leave." The Architect is still alive, albeit debilitated. This city will not keep him if he regains his electricity."
Lucas barely heard her. His gaze became fixed on the fragment, its faint brightness a cruel reminder of the light Avery had been. The steady pulse in his hand mirrored his speeding heartbeat, like a tie to something he couldn't bear to lose.
"Lucas," Elena insisted, edging closer, her voice keen with urgency. "Get out of it! If we don't leave soon, this whole area will disintegrate."
"I'm not leaving her," he said calmly, his voice normal but full of anguish.
