Even when I appeared, walking into the crater without bothering to hide my footsteps—my boots crunching loudly on loose stones and cracked earth—she remained completely still, alone, her gaze fixed on that dark, smoke-choked sky above.
She didn't turn her head, and she didn't react at all to my presence.
Really, it was sad in a way I hadn't expected.
She was utterly alone now, without any of her siblings around her.
Those grotesque numbered Borns that had loved her so fiercely they flew into a rage the moment D'Lion first hurt her.
Now there was nothing left of them—just drifting ash and faint traces of grey mist carried away on the hot wind.
I took another slow step deeper into the crater, the ground still warm beneath my feet, small pebbles shifting and rolling away as I moved closer.
The air here felt thicker, heavier with the scent of scorched stone and lingering ozone from the massive detonation.
