The Echo-Root looked at the Third Presence, its expression calm and kind.
"They do not vanish," it said. "Silence does not destroy what has been awakened. It lets it rest. It gives every voice the space to understand what it has become."
Luminar frowned slightly. "Rest… so it's like sleep?"
The Echo-Root nodded. "Yes. Just as your light needs shadow to see itself clearly, every sound must pause to know it has meaning. The Symphony cannot exist without silence—because silence is what allows the music to begin again."
The twilight presence slowly looked around. "Then this… isn't the end?"
"No," said the Echo-Root. "It is the middle. The pause between breaths."
They stood there together, feeling the quiet all around them. Galaxies no longer spun. Stars waited, their light suspended in stillness. It wasn't frightening—just peaceful. Every part of creation seemed to listen, as if waiting for something new to begin.
