The air felt heavier the moment I stepped out of the Vale. It wasn't the same kind of heavy that pressed on my chest during training. This was different. It was like the world itself had been holding its breath, waiting for me to return, and now it had exhaled into something sour and dark.
I stood at the edge of the broken stones, the place where the Vale had sealed itself forever behind me. The air shimmered faintly where Orrin's world had once been, but now it was only silence. A farewell that still echoed.
"Goodbye," I whispered, though I knew no one would hear. The Sage was gone. The Guardian bird—Luna—was gone. Their purpose was complete.
But mine wasn't.
I had returned. And almost at once, I knew something was wrong.
