Chapter 20
The Abyssal stepped back.
It was only a single movement, a slight shift of its massive form, but it was enough to quiet the entire terrace. A creature built to kill Sovereigns, a monster that had just thrown the Dragon King across the sky as if it weighed nothing, was retreating. For a moment, no one moved. Even the dragons above seemed to hesitate, their wings slowing as the battlefield adjusted around something none of them expected.
Ariana's heart pounded as she watched Kael rise slowly from the ruins of the broken pillar. Dust slid from his shoulders, and fragments of stone fell around his boots, but he did not seem to notice any of it. Something about him had changed.
The air around him felt heavier, charged with pressure like a storm waiting to break. It pressed outward, subtle but undeniable, forcing everything nearby to react. Even the smoke drifting through the terrace seemed to shift away from him.
His eyes were no longer gold.
