บท 1067: The Flicker Of Hope

"I'm sorry," I whispered to the still bodies of my friends lying amongst the rubble.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save you."

I felt a heavy sorrow knotting inside my chest, a bitter cocktail of regret, loss, and the raw, unadulterated terror of facing my own mortality.

However... more than the pain of loss, what I felt was the rage against the one who inflicted all these on me.

"Let's see how you handle this," I muttered, my voice cracking with the strain of suppressed emotions. With a sudden surge of resolve, I activated the necklace.

"Big Bang..."

Time seemed to slow as a blinding white light erupted from the pendant, the space around me instantly disintegrating under the onslaught of raw, untamed Aether.

~BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!~

The cavernous chamber transformed into a maelstrom of destructive energy, the monstrous horde disappearing beneath the searing light.