Three hours after Jack's escape through the black rose portal, reinforcements finally arrived in numbers that could actually make a difference.
I stood atop the ruins of what had once been the Imperial Palace, my transformed senses cataloging the scope of devastation that stretched across Avalon City like an open wound. Thirty million people had called this place home that morning. Now, thanks to Elara's sacrifice, most of them would see another sunrise—but the city itself would never be the same.
Military hover-vehicles from all five continents converged on the capital in formations that painted the sky with their running lights, while emergency medical teams deployed across every district to handle casualties that numbered in the hundreds of thousands despite Elara's miraculous intervention. The political ramifications alone would reshape international relations for decades.
