The first thing that welcomed me was the cold embrace of snow and frost.
I coughed, heaving heavily as my eyes fluttered open. I was lying on the bare snow, my arms on my chest like I'd been taking a nap.
But it wasn't any mere "nap".
The silence in my soul was enough proof that all I experienced wasn't a dream. It was my new reality.
"Argh." I gasped, struggling to get on my feet through the pain coursing through my body.
The sky was still alight with the shy grace of the sun, dark clouds still blotting most of it. Like the sky itself wanted to mourn alongside me.
I turned my head to my right and spotted Mount Logan. Or at least, what was left of it after Ryker's throne room collapsed on itself. It was now half its former size, the rest of it seeming like the wind could blow it off.
Snow blew against my skin, and my dress, which had been reduced to shreds, flapped in the wind. I wrapped my arms around myself, shivering and gnashing my teeth.
