[Third POV – Astrae]
The silence after the two Wardens fell did not last.
Astrae stood in the middle of the chamber, chest rising and falling unevenly, blood sliding down her side and dripping from her fingertips. The broken constructs lay in pieces around her, obsidian bone cracked and void-metal plates bent out of shape.
She knew better than to believe it was over.
The runes across the walls began to crawl faster.
A low vibration moved through the floor, subtle at first, then steady.
The fractured remains of the fallen Wardens twitched.
Astrae clenched her jaw.
"As expected," she muttered under her breath.
The pieces did not reassemble the same way as before. Instead, the fragments dragged across the floor, grinding and snapping into new configurations. Plates shifted, joints realigned. The broken leg she had severed pulled itself back with unnatural angles, reshaping into something thicker, reinforced.
A third presence stirred from the shadows.
