The trading session had ended, leaving Daniel, Lia, and Ayra immensely wealthy in both resources and gratitude from the dozens of Awakened whose passage to Level 4 they had secured.
As dusk turned to night, casting deep shadows across the Taiji Basin, Daniel led his team back to the devastated shoreline of Yang Lake.
The air here was still heavy with the scent of the Leviathan's death, a mix of ozone, brine, and something ancient and primal.
Ayra, despite her S-Grade Crystal Gloves and new wealth, looked slightly apprehensive.
"So, this is it," she muttered. "The giant fish's final moments. What now, Vance? A burial at sea? Or are we having a very, very large barbecue?"
Daniel just smiled, a hint of predatory excitement in his eyes.
"Neither, Ayra. It's time for our final teammate to truly come into her own."
He looked down at Nyx, his Shadow Wolf Pup familiar, who was panting softly at his feet, her luminous blue eyes fixed on the colossal corpse.
