Athena pov
I started forward, the injured wolves limping beside me like tattered banners of loyalty. I could feel the old bond stirring between us. Even after everything, they knew me. Their goddess. Their queen.
We passed toppled statues of myself, crumbled monuments to a people who once danced beneath full moons in celebration. Now... reduced to ruin.
At the edge of the broken city walls, more demon wolves gathered.
I didn't hesitate.
The moment they saw me, I flung my hand toward them, and silver fire rained from the sky like spears hurled by vengeful gods. They howled, clawed, and begged, but none of them escaped the light.
I walked through their ashes like a wraith made of vengeance and sorrow.
A part of me wanted to scream. To tear at the heavens and demand why it had all come to this.
But I knew why.
Him.
The king who had done this.
My heart thundered with one truth as I stepped toward the burning skeleton of my city.
No more mercy.
Not for him.
