"All things that fall return to the tide."
The whisper lingered in the air like the last note of a forgotten song, fading until Apollo couldn't tell if he still heard it or merely remembered hearing it.
The pale coral walls surrounding them had lost their vibrant glow, now reflecting their movements with the dull, milky translucence of ghost-glass. No longer alive with power, just... empty.
No one spoke. The silence felt fragile, as if a single word might shatter whatever tenuous peace had settled after the sea's memory had washed through them.
Apollo watched as Mira knelt beside the water that still pooled around their ankles. She dipped her fingers into it, her brow furrowing slightly.
"It feels... different," she said finally, her voice barely above a whisper. "Like ordinary water. No life to it anymore." She let the liquid drip from her fingertips, each droplet falling with the dull plop of common seawater.
