Signs of Strain

The darkened depths of Kael's realm pulsed with a malignant energy, the very air heavy with a sense of power and decay. Shadows wove and writhed around him, obedient yet alive, eagerly responding to his commands. Seated upon a throne of polished obsidian, Kael's eyes glowed an eerie crimson as he studied the crystalline map of Ciara's realm, laid out before him in threads of shadow and faint, fading light.

His fingers hovered over two small figures on the map—Lamar and the twins, marked by tendrils of shadow that shifted and twitched under his control. "Soon," he murmured, his voice a chilling whisper that reverberated across the vast chamber, "her ties to them will weaken her resolve. That love of hers will be her undoing."