A week went by, and it was a depressing one. A bleak atmosphere hung over Paradise like a fog, settling over the survivors as heavily as the dome of water above them.
Percival stood before what remained of the council hall. It was little more than rubble now, but they had managed to recover the divided corpses of the Elders, which had been swept away by the flood and left against the side of a building among several other bodies.
It was a sight that refused to leave his mind.
"It's all gone," Lucy said.
The hopelessness in her voice made Percival turn. She was crouched nearby with her face buried in her palms.
"It's not." Percival pointed towards the sky, where the enormous dome of flowing water still loomed over the ruined city. "We're still protected. We pushed them back, and some of us survived."
Lucy lifted her head and stared at him in disbelief.
