Embers swirled, scattered further as he loosed another breath—shakier than his last. His eyes scanned what little else remained of what he’d wrought…

…In any case, a worthy cost.

Like yesterday, no specific inspiration I can cite here beyond a cheeky prompt interpretation. There were probably more particulars in my backlog that I could draw from instead, but I was feeling edgy for whatever reason, and here we are—sue me!