424 Restored

The light that formed this temporary meeting space between Aldrich and the Hero faded away. Time resumed its normal flow. The shield continued to hover above him, tethered to a glimmering white aura that wrapped around his body.

When Aldrich moved, the shield moved with him, affixed to him.

The aura surrounding Aldrich was infused with warmth. A gentle, comforting warmth that utterly belied the carnage that Aldrich's armor of stitched fallen creatures promised.

Emanating outwards from Aldrich's greaves was a white spiral pattern that covered the ground of the annihilated lab. The pattern flickered bright, then dimmed down, then brightened again in rhythmic beats, and with each cycle of glowing and dimming, a heartbeat-like thud echoed outwards.

"This feels…strange." Clint tentatively touched down into the rubble of the labs. When his bare feet made contact with the patterned ground, he blinked. "It feels…familiar?"