Elina clutched her shawl, awestruck. "Do you think they see us?"
"I don't know," Sharath murmured. "But I know one thing... This wasn't just a gift to you."
He looked down at their daughter, who stared at the glowing horizon with stars in her eyes.
"It's a gift to the future."
The balloon circled once, then slowly descended, guided by runic signals from the mages. But the fire that burned in Sharath's chest would not cool.
He had reached the heavens.
And found a new land untouched by war, invention, or ideology.
"There's more to this world," he whispered to himself. "More than even I imagined."
And far above them, hidden eyes watched the balloon drift away.
The sky had been touched.
And it would never forget.