Piere raced forward, his feet pounding against the cold stone floor as he sprinted through the dark, twisting underground passage. Behind him, Zanuba followed, gasping for breath but still trying to keep up. Despite the length and gloom of the corridor, Piere's mind kept drifting back to the battle he had just witnessed—the fight between Alaric and Zodiac among the ruins of Direwitch Castle. He still couldn't believe what he had seen. Zodiac, a figure once thought to be unbeatable, now cornered and looking so weak in the face of Alaric's overwhelming power.
Occasionally, as they passed broken sections of the walls, Piere caught glimpses of flashes of light from Alaric's magic. The distant fight echoed like a thunderclap in his mind, raising more questions than it answered.
