The moment I stepped into the corridor, the air felt different, quieter in a way that pressed against my ears after everything that had just happened.
I walked without urgency, but not slowly either, my steps steady as I moved further away from the door, even though the sound of Astria's sobbing lingered faintly behind me longer than it should have.
I did not look back.
I had no reason to.
[You paused though.]
'I stopped walking, not turned around. There is a difference.'
[Very important distinction, Host. Emotionally distant but physically hesitant.]
I ignored him and continued forward, my gaze fixed ahead, my thoughts louder than the silence around me. The corridor stretched on, dimly lit with soft natural light filtering through the high windows, and for a moment it almost felt like none of what just happened was real. Which I wouldn't necessarily hate.
Then footsteps sounded behind me.
Not hurried, not hesitant. Controlled.
I stopped.
Of course I did.
