Heng's Grip Loosens From Tiechui's Hammer

Heng lunged, fingers scrabbling at the cold, vibrating metal of the Sky's End Anchor. The impossible clang of Tiechui's hammer had echoed through the chamber moments ago, a ghostly reverberation that had momentarily pierced Zero's dominion. Now, a new tremor, more potent than any gravity fluctuation, coursed through the structure.

It was a physical manifestation of the anchor’s torment, a deep, internal resonance that mirrored the pain he'd felt when his own anchor chain had severed. "It’s… it’s still here," Heng gasped, his voice ragged, as his grip tightened on a protruding rivet.

He could feel it now, a faint, desperate echo of Tiechui's spirit fighting against Zero's suffocating control. The upward abyss seemed to hold its breath, watching this impossible struggle unfold. His eyes flickered to Reflection's vacant stare, her consciousness now a passenger in this agonizing symphony.

He had to hold on, not just for himself, but for the city being dragged into the unforgiving sky. He braced himself, channeling all his remaining strength into his grasp, a desperate defiance against the encroaching emptiness.

The hammer strikes again, not with sound, but with a shudder that rattles Heng's very bones, forcing his grip to loosen.