LOGINLyra POVI didn’t sleep again.I just lay there, staring at the ceiling until my eyes started to hurt.At some point, I turned to the side and watched the door.It stayed closed.But not locked.I kept checking that.Over and over.Like it might change if I looked away for too long.It didn’t.Still… I didn’t relax fully.I don’t think I know how to yet.After a while, I sat up.The room felt too quiet again.Not bad.Just… too much space for my thoughts.So I got down from the bed and stepped into the hallway.No one.The house felt empty.I walked slowly, my fingers brushing lightly against the wall as I moved.The table was still there.The chair I sat on earlier hadn’t been moved.Everything looked the same.But something felt different.I couldn’t explain it.I stood in the middle of the room for a moment, just looking around.Then I noticed something I hadn’t paid attention
Lyra POVI woke up before I opened my eyes.That was the first thing I noticed.Usually, I woke up suddenly—heart beating fast, body tight, like something was about to happen. Like I had to be ready to run even before I knew why.But this time…I was just awake.Lying still.Breathing slowly.It felt strange.I kept my eyes closed for a few seconds longer, listening.Nothing.No footsteps outside the door.No voices.No metal sounds.No shouting.Just quiet.Real quiet.My eyes opened slowly.The ceiling came into view.Same as before.Plain.Still.Not moving.I turned my head slightly.The room was exactly how I saw it before I slept.Nothing had changed.No one had entered.No one had touched anything.I sat up slowly.The blanket slid off my shoulder, and I paused for a second, looking down at it.I wasn’t used to this.Sleeping without holding my bag.
Lyra POV I didn’t know how far we had walked before the noise started to fade. At first, the market still followed us—the shouting, the arguing, the sound of people calling out prices like they were fighting for attention. But little by little, it all drifted behind us until it became something distant, like a memory I wasn’t sure I wanted to keep. My hand was still in hers. I noticed it when my fingers shifted slightly against her palm. I hadn’t even thought about letting go. That scared me a little. Not because it felt wrong… but because it didn’t. We passed houses—real houses, not stalls or broken corners or wooden boxes people slept beside. Some had doors open. Some had people sitting outside like they had nowhere else to be. A child ran past us barefoot, laughing at something I couldn’t see. I turned my head and watched him. He didn’t look hungry. He didn’t look scared. He didn’t look like he was trying to survive. He just… existed. I looked away quickly. “Are you t
Lyra POVI didn’t know if it was still morning or already afternoon.Time didn’t make sense anymore.Everything just felt… long.My body felt heavy when I stood up from the alley.My legs shook a little, like they didn’t really want to carry me anymore.But I still moved.Because staying there felt worse.The market was still loud.Still busy.Still full of people who didn’t care.I stepped out slowly, holding onto the wall for a moment before letting go.My stomach hurt in a different way now.Not sharp.Not loud.Just… empty.Like there was nothing left inside it to hurt.My throat felt dry too.When I swallowed, it scratched.I looked around.Food everywhere.Still not for me.I walked slowly this time.Not rushing.Not hopeful.Just moving.I stopped near a stall again.I didn’t even know why.Maybe because I didn’t know where else to go.“Please…” I said quietly.The word felt smaller now.Like it didn’t mean anything anymore.The man didn’t even look at me.“Go away,” he said.N
Lyra POV The market didn’t sleep. I thought it would. I thought when the night got deeper, people would go home and everything would go quiet like the house used to be. But it didn’t. It just… changed. The loud voices became lower. Rougher. The laughter became sharper. The people looked different. Scarier. I stood near the edge of the market for a long time, not moving. I didn’t know where to go. I didn’t know what to do. Everyone seemed to know where they were going except me. I looked down at the coins in my hand. They were small. Cold. Not enough. Even I could tell that. My stomach growled again. It hurt more now. Like something inside me was folding in on itself. I pressed my hand against it. “I’ll just buy food,” I whispered. That sounded easy. Simple. Like something normal people did. So I walked toward a stall. Bread. I could smell it before I got close. Warm. Soft. My mouth filled with saliva. I stepped closer, h
Lyra POV I knew something was wrong before the door opened. Not the normal kind of wrong. Not the quiet, heavy feeling the dungeon always had. This one felt… rushed. Like the air itself was moving too fast. I sat up on the small bed, my eyes fixed on the door. Footsteps. Not slow. Not steady. Fast. Then— The door burst open. I jumped back, my heart slamming against my chest so hard it hurt. It wasn’t the woman knight. It wasn’t the scary man. It was someone else. A man. Tall. Covered in dark clothes that looked almost like they swallowed the light around him. His face… I couldn’t really see it properly. It was like he stayed just out of reach of the light. For a second, we just stared at each other. I didn’t speak. I didn’t move. Because I didn’t know what he was. Friend? Enemy? Something worse? He stepped inside quickly and shut the door behind him. I flinched. “Come,” he said. His voice was low. Not soft. Not kind. J







