The world was silent, save for the hiss of steam and the soft, final crackle of dying flames.

Crimson light faded from the sky, revealing a canvas bruised purple and black. The colossal wall of water was gone. The deafening roar of the abyssal tide was gone. The shrieking horde of deep-sea monstrosities was… mostly gone.

Where tens of thousands of armored soldiers had stood moments before, there was now only a vast, blackened scar upon the earth and the sea. The very water of the ocean boiled, churning with ash that had once been flesh and bone. The Soul-Burning Demon Flame had not merely killed; it had unwritten over half of the Deep Sea Sect’s invading army from existence.

Luo Qingyi felt none of the victory. Her world had shrunk to the frail, aged man in her arms.