In his final moments, Harold saw his life flash before his eyes. The orphanage in Yino, cold and desolate, where shadows seemed longer and darkness deeper than anywhere else.
The day the Venmonts adopted him, the first time he felt hope bloom in his chest like a fragile flower.
Years of brutal training, painful modifications, all to please a father who never...
The thought remained unfinished when the beam of light finished consuming his torso. What remained was barely recognizable as human, the lower half of a charred body, part monster, part man, smoking on the metallic floor. The acrid smell of a burned body filled the air.
"Luna!" Larissa ran to her cousin, who lay there after anchoring Harold with her last shadow and physical effort. Her normally perfect composure shattered by genuine fear for her family.
Min followed immediately, his snake manifesting to begin the healing process, its scales gleaming with restorative energy.
