บท 145: Call of the Stars

The Western University, once a revered sanctuary for mages, had fallen to ruin. The Infernal Dragon shattered the sky with thunderous roars, announcing its triumph from its perch atop the Heart of the West. The blazing fires of the city reflected from the cracked facets of the massive crystal, which hovered askew in the air beneath the monster's tremendous weight.

Broken cries and screams floated across the peaks, rife with pain and horror. I stared helplessly at the blazing city, tracing the contours of the once proud towers and structures of the university. Elise's scorched corpse drifted limply before my eyes, hanging in the air as from a gallows.

Guilt clawed at my insides; why hadn't I warned her? Why hadn't I said anything? Her blackened lips condemned me in my own voice, a thousand times more real than any illusory figure in the nightmares I'd suffered.