The boy's body hit the ground in a broken heap.
No...
Fk.
Alden stood frozen, mere steps away. He had arrived a second too late. And that single second had cost the child his life.
Damn it.
His mind was chaotic, his breath unsteady.
Then came another attack—slashing through the air.
The boy's mother lunged at him.
[VOIDHEART HAS BEEN ACTIVATED STRONGLY]
His grief was still present, but his mind snapped into icy clarity. His eyes turned cold.
A slight tilt of his head, and the claws missed him harmlessly.
[Eye of Supreme]
He didn't strike immediately. Not yet. He needed confirmation.
He activated his aura sense.
Nothing.
No light. No trace. No soul.
Dead.
Aura was the breath of the soul. Its color, its rhythm, its signature. And she had none.
These things—whatever they were—were already gone.
I don't need to hold back.
Alden didn't raise a hand.
He reached towards his shadow.
Rise.
