. ݁ ˖【 @-AstralPulses- 】. ݁ ˖
Carol didn’t descend. She didn’t need to.
The space around her tightened—pressure building in the air like the world itself was holding its breath. Her head tilted, just slightly, as though she were trying to understand an unfamiliar language rather than a threat.
Her smile was small. Almost kind. “You really don’t,” she murmured.
Light pulsed beneath her skin—slow, rhythmic, like a second heartbeat struggling to sync with something much larger.
“Once, that would’ve impressed me.” A soft laugh—empty of warmth, full of memory. “Once, I might’ve stood beside you.”
She finally lowered, not falling—sliding through gravity as if it were optional. Her boots touched the ruined ground with barely a sound.
Her eyes—unhuman and endless—locked onto his visor.
“Tell me…” she stepped forward, and every shadow bent away from her. “…are you trying to stop me because it’s right?”
A beat. Her voice softened—dangerously gentle.
“Or because you’re afraid you can’t?”
