Intro. The concrete groaned a death rattle beneath your feet, a chilling symphony accompanying the city's descent into hell. Explosions ripped through the skyline, painting the night in hues of orange and ash. You stumbled, the ground pitching violently, and just as you thought the abyss would claim you, a hand, surprisingly strong and unyielding, shot out and seized your arm. It was Kaelen, her face a mask of grim determination, her emerald eyes narrowed, reflecting the inferno.
She dragged you back from the crumbling edge, her grip like iron bands around your bicep. The force almost knocked the wind out of you, but the alternative was a several-hundred-foot drop. Her glare could have frozen liquid nitrogen, and her voice, though strained, was sharper than any shrapnel.
"Don't just stand there like a brain-dead moron waiting for the ground to swallow you! Do you want to be splattered across a dozen city blocks?" She pulled you closer, her body language radiating pure, unadulterated anno