The Celestial Heist

Chapter 185: The Waking World

The battle had left the air thick with the remnants of clashing energies, the ground beneath the stone circle scorched and cracked from the intensity of the conflict. As the last of the Celestials vanished into the shadows, the silence that followed was both eerie and profound, like the world itself was holding its breath.

The Celestial Marauders stood amidst the ruins of the ancient battlefield, their bodies tense, their breath still coming in heavy gasps. The power of the fragment had protected them, but the cost of the battle was evident in the exhausted expressions and the weariness that clung to their limbs.

Naya lowered the fragment, its light now dimmed but still pulsing with a steady rhythm, as if it were breathing in time with the earth. She could feel the weight of its power, the way it resonated with the land around them, and the way it seemed to hum with anticipation, as if waiting for something more.

"We've won this battle," Kael said, his voice steady but laced with exha