The golden light inside Elara flickered again. Not a stumble this time. A dimming. Like a candle burning low.
She felt it while standing on the wall, watching the Grey pulse at the edge of the fields. The void was still there, still warm, but quieter. Weaker.
Something is wrong, the void said.
"You're fading."
Yes. The Grey is not attacking me. It is draining me. Slowly. Like water through cracks.
"Can you stop it?"
I am trying. But the Grey is patient. It has been draining the Unnamed's dreams for eons. It knows how to wait.
---
Sarah found her daughter gripping the stone wall, her knuckles white.
"The void?"
"Fading. The Grey is draining it."
"How long?"
"The void doesn't know. Weeks. Days. It depends on how hard the Grey pushes."
Sarah put her hand on Elara's shoulder. "The
