The Shadow That Slipped Away
Fog hung low when Evan vanished, leaving the masters standing still. Their breaths slowed, weighted by what slipped through their fingers. Silence crept across the stones where orders once flew. Mistakes don't shout - they seep, quiet and deep. Shadows stretched longer without him there.
Wind at night slipped between shattered lanterns, sending scraps of ritual paper skittering over cold stones. After the fight, silence settled like dust on every surface. Smoke from old incense curled just beneath the breath, barely there. Quiet stayed longer than anyone expected.
A monster of a man... still slipped through their fingers.
A few older exorcists tightened their hands into fists. Some turned their eyes to the shadowed edge of the sky, where Evan was gone, faces set hard.
Silence hung there, stretching out like a held breath.
Then suddenly—
