Phoenix's POV.
The world had become a blur of chaos, fire, and pain. My blade cut through monster after monster, my body moving on instinct, but my mind—my mind was haunted by a single scream.
His scream.
"George!" I shouted, my voice cracking against the chaos of the battle. My heart clenched as I ran, leaping over the smouldering remains of a fallen tree, my feet pounding against the scorched earth. His voice had been raw, filled with agony, and it pierced through me like a thousand blades.
When I found him, time stopped.
I froze as my breath caught in my throat. George lay sprawled on the ground, his blood staining the earth beneath him, pooling like a red halo. Annette stood above him, her blade dripping with his life, her expression twisted with cruelty.
"No…" The word came out as a whisper at first, barely audible, before it tore from my throat in a scream that felt like it ripped my soul apart. "No!"
