Night returned to its natural darkness.
Arin sat by the river that no longer breathed. Liora slept nearby, her light dimmed but steady. Above them, the constellations flickered some new, some missing.
He closed his eyes.
In the quiet, he heard it: a single heartbeat deep beneath the earth. The Apostate's echo, still alive, still waiting.
"The Choir is never gone," the voice whispered. "Only waiting for its next verse."
Arin looked to the stars, to the void between them, and exhaled.
"Then let it wait," he said softly. "The world deserves its silence."
The wind carried his words into the dark. Somewhere far below, the world stirred and the next verse began to form.
End of Volume 1