The world was different now.
Not just the sky—the air, the way the stars seemed to flicker with life again after an age of dullness. The weight of the Hollow was still there, but it had softened. It was no longer an insistent pull, a reminder of what I had once been. Now, it thrummed beneath my skin like a distant song, waiting for me to listen, to take it as I once had.
But that was the difference, wasn’t it? I didn’t have to. Not anymore.
“Liora.”
Kael’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. His hand was warm against my back, steady, keeping me grounded as I gazed up at the now-still sky. The rift that had torn apart the heavens was gone, its blackness faded into a soft, violet dusk. We had done it. I had done it.
But the victory felt hollow—like a melody missing its final chord.
I tur
