For the first time in his life, Austin regretted coming home.
He stood frozen—Valerie limp and unconscious in his arms—staring at the burning capital that once felt like the center of his world.
Demons still swarmed through the city like a black tide. Soldiers screamed, fought, or fled. Civilians lay dead across the blood-soaked streets. Flames licked the skies from shattered windows and fallen roofs. The once-bright city was drowned in a sea of ash and crimson.
Everything he loved…
Everything he swore to protect...
Gone.
He took a step forward.
The Absolute Barrier pulsed softly around him, keeping the demons at bay. Or maybe... they were just too afraid to come close. Maybe they felt it—that he had nothing left to lose.
He couldn't look up. He couldn't let his eyes wander.
Because if he did, he would break.
The screams… they never stopped.
Children calling for their parents.
Mothers sobbing for their babies.
