At dawn, the eastern ramparts lay broken. Half the battlements were scorched or frozen, twisted by the dueling wills of fire and ice. Charred revenant husks littered the breach's edge, but more shadows pressed in, undaunted by the rising sun.
Cyg moved among the wounded, voice low as he dispatched commands to the field medics. "Triage the toxin-burns first," he ordered, nodding toward a row of soldiers coughing black spores into bloodied cloths. "If the corruption reaches their hearts, they're lost."
Elaine followed in his wake, her healing winds stirring the debris. "We can still stabilize some of them," she said, voice taut with exhaustion. "But the lines can't hold another assault like this."
"They won't have to," Gaia said, approaching across the shattered courtyard. Her hair was matted with soot, her armor dented. Even so, she carried herself as though nothing could make her yield. "We move now to reclaim the Hollow Expanse."
Cyg looked up sharply. "You mean to leave Bastion Hold vulnerable?"
"If we let the Abyss build a foothold in the Expanse, they will open a true gate," Gaia said. "Every hour we delay, more of their vanguard emerges."
"And if we split our forces again," Cyg replied, "we lose both positions. I will not sanction this."
Gaia's blue eyes burned as if lit from within. "You are not the only one with authority here."
Elaine stepped between them, hands outstretched. "Please. Not here, not in front of the wounded."
But Gaia did not look away from Cyg. "You can remain to protect the Hold if you choose," she said quietly. "I will lead the assault myself."
"The Abyss feeds on reckless defiance," he said, voice colder than the morning frost. "If you die, your legend dies with you—and so does this fragile hope you've built."
"Then stand with me," she urged. "If you truly care about this realm, help me drive them back!"
A hush fell over the courtyard. Even the wounded seemed to hold their breath, waiting to see which of them would yield.
Cyg slowly sheathed the Azure Sigil. "I will not waste lives chasing your illusions," he said. "But I will not stop you, either."
Gaia's jaw set. "Then I pray your caution does not damn us all."
As she turned away, rallying her forces, Cyg watched her go. For the first time in many years, he wondered if the Abyss had already done its worst—not by breaking their bodies, but by dividing their hearts.
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