The night was clear, too clear.
No clouds, no wind – only a silent, vibrating glow over the city that seemed like the flickering of a breath. Lina lay awake. Her eyes followed the golden lines stretching across the ceiling, as if the architecture itself were alive.
For days she hadn't slept properly. Not because she couldn't, but because her body no longer needed it. Something inside her was more awake than ever before – yet simultaneously empty.
She sat up, letting her legs hang over the edge of the bed and listened. Nothing but silence. But then – a sound. Barely audible. Not a noise, but a frequency.
Lina.
This was no dream.
"No," she whispered. "Not again."
But the voice came closer, like a whisper behind her bones.
Lina... hear me.
She stood up, went to the window. Below, the light of the Will Field flickered, calm, orderly – and yet with a hint of Blue in it. The Blue that once belonged to Malrik.
"Alaric?" she called. Nothing. Just the quiet humming.
