Kai stood on the crumbling outer wall of the royal palace.
He looked down at the absolute chaos violently consuming Sunfall Oasis.
Thick, suffocating clouds of red dust still rose from the collapsed central tower.
Fires burned fiercely in the crowded lower districts.
Freed slaves and angry rebel factions had already started rioting in the winding streets.
The once-feared Sandguard Elites were either fleeing into the dunes or throwing down their gilded weapons in total surrender.
Yena stood right beside him, her curved desert sword still gripped tightly in her hand.
She was breathing hard from their desperate run through the collapsing palace corridors.
She stared intently at the glowing Kingdom Core Fragment resting in Kai's open palm.
"You actually did it," Yena said, her voice thick with heavy disbelief.
"The tyrant queen is really dead."
"The whole city is falling apart right in front of us."
Kai closed his scarred fingers slowly around the jagged crystal fragment.
