The storm outside the Ebon Crest Tower ended as abruptly as it had begun.
No more impacts.
No more screaming metal tearing through steel.
Just—
Stillness.
A heavy kind.
The perimeter that had once held order now barely resembled a defensive line.
SUVs sat gutted, their frames torn open from both sides, engines exposed and smoking. Doors hung loose or lay several meters away, ripped free by the returning barrage.
Tires burned low, rubber sagging inward as flames ate through what remained.
Bodies were everywhere.
Some didn't move.
Others did.
A man dragged himself across the pavement using only his arms, his lower half trailing behind him uselessly.
Blood smeared beneath him in uneven streaks, his fingers slipping as he tried to pull himself closer to the tower. His breath came in broken bursts—wet, uneven, like something inside him had already given up.
Nearby, a woman pushed herself up on one knee, only to collapse again when her arm gave out beneath her.
