The room was silent, bathed in the warm glow of sunset filtering through the worn curtains. Luca slowly opened his eyes. His body ached, but the black fog that once clouded his mind had lifted. For the first time in weeks, he could breathe.
Lyra was fast asleep at the edge of the bed, exhausted from days of worry and the relief of her brother surviving.
Luca gently sat up, careful not to wake her. As he rubbed his eyes, he caught a glimpse of himself in the cracked mirror across the room.
Still blue... but now flickering with faint hints of violet.
"What...?" he whispered.
Curious, he raised his hand. His palm tingled.
A crackling sound echoed through the room as a small arc of lightning snapped between his fingers—jagged and wild. But it wasn't the calm blue bolt of his childhood training. This lightning flickered violently, its color unstable, shifting from deep violet to brilliant blue with each second.
He gasped as the spark grew too large and exploded in his hand, sending him flying back onto the bed. A scorch mark etched itself on the wooden floor.
"What is happening to me...?"
He clutched his chest. The surge had felt powerful—but also terrifying. It was as if something darker now coursed through his mana core, dancing with his natural affinity and distorting it.
Zane's Void power had saved him—but perhaps it had also changed him.