5. Downfallen
The temple’s spire once stood as a symbol of the town’s aspirations, a tower of golden glass and limestone reaching toward the sky. Now, it lies downfallen, cracked in half, one side buried in the earth as if ashamed. The stained-glass windows, which once depicted dragons entwined with flowering vines, lie shattered. Statues of drake-priests are headless. Beneath the rubble, someone has scrawled in blood: “We flew too close.” No one knows if it’s metaphor or prophecy.
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