The silence of the chamber was suffocating. After the gorge's cacophony, the shrieks of revenants, the roar of glyphs, the clash of steel, the hush struck like a physical blow. It was not the silence of peace, but of stone holding its breath. Every scrape of boot against the floor rang too loud, every exhale too sharp.
Leo's chest hammered as though something inside him was no longer content to lie dormant. The fragment pulsed with ferocity, its rhythm no longer matching his heartbeat but replacing it. His skin prickled, as though his veins themselves were strings strummed by unseen hands. He staggered, pressing a palm to his ribs.
"Leo." Evelyn's voice was soft but urgent, her hand catching his arm. She was pale, more fragile than he had ever seen her, exhaustion etched deep into her face. Yet her touch was steady. "Your fragment… it's not just reacting. It's, " she swallowed, her throat tight, ", it's answering something here."
