The castle felt different without him. Quieter, yes, but the silence carried an undercurrent of unease, like the hush before a storm. Elian moved through the long corridors with deliberate slowness, his boots whispering against the polished stone floors. The servants he passed averted their eyes, offering hurried bows before melting into the shadows, their footsteps fading as quickly as they appeared.So this was belonging, he thought bitterly. Not with open arms or warm glances, but with this cold tolerance, as if he were a ghost haunting the halls rather than a living soul within them. He turned into another hallway, directionless, his mind adrift in the labyrinth of ancient walls. Yet an inexplicable pull tugged at him, a quiet instinct blooming in his core, urging him onward like a siren's call he couldn't quite decipher.Then, a breath of fresh air caressed his skin. Elian halted, his gaze locking onto a door slightly ajar at the corridor's end. Golden sunlight poured through t
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