The void spoke its last words to Elara at midnight.
I am dying. Not fading. Dying. The Grey has drained too much. There is not enough left to hold.
"No." Elara sat up in bed. "You can't die. You're the void. You've been here forever."
Nothing is forever. Not even the void.
"What happens when you die?"
The golden light goes out. The hope I carried goes with me. The Grey will spread faster. There will be nothing to stop it.
"Then we stop it before you die."
You cannot stop death. You can only delay it.
---
Sarah found her daughter standing at the window, staring at the Grey.
"The void?"
"Dying."
"The Grey?"
"Winning."
Sarah stood beside her. "We've faced worse."
"Have we? The Ember could be sealed. The Deepening could be changed. The Stillness could be taught. The Grey cannot
