The air around the temple had ceased to be arid. As he walked through the courtyard, Erian felt how the grass crunched differently beneath his sandals, more damp, more supple, as if the ground itself had drunk deeply.
The fresh scent of new grass mixed with the ancient dust, creating a contradictory sensation: life and ruin coexisting in the same space.
On the withered trees, which for weeks had stood like silent skeletons, something new began to sprout.. Erian heard it in the soft whispers the wind pulled from their branches: tender leaves, still weak and small, yet firm in their will to grow.
Seirion had told Erian, long ago, that his presence brought life to this place. In that moment, hearing the trees reborn and feeling the fresh grass beneath his feet, Erian realized those weren't just pretty words meant to console him. They were true.
