The ruined district burned beneath waves of crimson-gold fire.
Collapsed buildings smoldered under spreading sovereign flames while shattered streets glowed with molten cracks that pulsed like veins through the dead industrial zone. Black smoke curled into the storm-filled sky above the Imperial City, mixing with drifting ash and flickering embers that floated through the night air like dying stars.
Dark spiritual formations continued pulsing across the battlefield.
Ancient symbols spread beneath broken stone roads while unstable mental waves distorted the surrounding atmosphere. Entire sections of ruined structures trembled under lingering pressure left behind by the clash between sovereign fire and hidden suppression techniques.
This was no longer a simple ambush.
No longer an ordinary assassination attempt.
Both sides had already realized that much.
The hidden faction understood Aether's danger now.
And Aether understood something equally important in return.
