The moment Riven's body skidded across the cracked ground and came to a halt, he coughed up a mouthful of blood that stained the broken stone beneath him. In that instant, something in the air shifted, a heavy pressure that wasn't just about raw power but also intent, a presence that had finally stopped holding back.
When Valeria took a slow step forward, the ground beneath her foot cracked with a dry sound. It wasn't because she exerted more force; everything around her was already strained to its limit from their earlier clash.
Her crimson aura no longer flickered or surged wildly; instead, it settled thick and dense around her like a second skin, quiet yet suffocating.
The faint glow cast a red tint over the ruined battlefield as she regarded Riven with an emotionless expression, the wound on her abdomen still bleeding slightly but seemingly ignored.
