Knight's Sacred Burden
There, standing in the very center of the crater, was a statue.
It was a man, caught in a moment of agonizing exertion, his hands fused into the metal of a mangled pipe. But it was not made of stone or bronze. It was composed of shimmering, indestructible obsidian, dark as a moonless night and harder than any steel Julian had ever touched. Every vein, every muscle, every jagged scale was perfectly preserved in a state of eternal transition. It was Kael—or what remained of him.
Julian reached out, his trembling fingers brushing the cold, glassy surface. There was no warmth. No heartbeat. No hum of necrotic energy. Just a chilling, absolute stillness.