Morning came quietly.
Light filtered across the island in pale streaks, touching broken stone and newly repaired ground alike, revealing the aftermath of what had happened the night before. Noel stood with the others in an open section of the island that had been partially restored, the damage stabilized just enough to make it safe. Around them, people moved slowly, still stiff from exhaustion, but awake. All of them.
Nearly a thousand lives, freed and breathing without chains for the first time in longer than most of them wanted to remember.
The atmosphere was strange in its calm. Relief hung heavy in the air, tangled with gratitude and fatigue, a collective exhale that hadn't fully finished yet. Some people approached hesitantly, unsure of how to express what they felt. Others bowed deeply, heads lowered in respect, while a few simply spoke, voices rough and quiet, saying thanks because it was the only thing they had left to give.
