Waiting did not make things easier. It did not calm anyone down or give them relief. Instead, it made everything clearer in a way that was harder to deal with. The space around the core did not change at all, and that was the problem. Nothing moved, nothing reacted, and nothing forced them to act. The longer they stayed there, the more they had to think about what came next.
Aurelion stood a short distance from the core, not as close as before but not far enough to lose the connection he could still feel. It was faint but steady, like something that would always be there whether he wanted it or not. It did not pull him forward or try to force anything. It simply stayed, waiting for him to decide what to do with it.
