C231 NO SAFE GROUND LEFT

The world did not break all at once.

It broke silently, the way ice does under a careless step - a sound too small to fear until it is already too late.

Damon stood at the tallest balcony of the Ash Covenant, palms braced against the cold stone, eyes fixed on the horizon. The night air carried the smell of pinewood ash, and something else under it – iron, old blood, and intention