Sarah dreamed of silver light on the night of her ninth birthday.
She was standing on a beach of black sand, staring at a sea that glowed like molten metal. The waves didn't crash. They whispered. And beneath the whisper, a voice she had never heard but somehow knew.
You are the heir.
"I'm just a girl."
You are the echo of the echo of the echo of the echo. The void's last vessel.
"I don't want to be a vessel."
The void does not care what you want.
The silver sea rose.
Sarah woke screaming.
---
Elara reached her daughter's room in seconds.
"The Deepening?"
"It spoke to me. Said I was the void's last vessel."
"The void has been wrong before."
"It wasn't wrong. I could feel it. The emptiness."
Elara sat on the bed.
"The Deepening lies."
"It doesn't lie. It doesn't need to. Em
