The first thing I felt was breath.Not air, not warmth—just the slow drag of existence returning to lungs that had forgotten how to move.I lay still. The earth beneath me wasn’t earth at all, but ash—fine, weightless, and faintly luminous, as though the moon had turned to dust and rained itself across the ruins.Above me, the sky bled silver. Cracks of light webbed through the clouds, still burning from whatever wound had torn it open. Every sound was muffled, as if the world had drowned in its own silence.And then I heard it. A voice.Faint, breaking. Human."Elara…"My name.I turned my head, and there he was.Julian.He was kneeling a few paces away, his clothes torn and scorched, his hands shaking as he tried to steady himself against a fractured column. His face was streaked with blood and soot, eyes red from exhaustion—or grief.When he saw me move, something inside him broke. His lips parted, trembling."By the gods… you’re—"Alive?I wanted to say it, but my throat refused.
Last Updated : 2025-10-26 Read more