Silas spun around to face the master, meeting his kind, gentle eyes.
"Patron, you must release this attachment. The departed yearn for peace—not to linger bound to the mortal realm."
His chest seized as if pierced by an arrow.
He lunged, fingers clamping around the master's sleeve like a vise. "Master—what do you mean? How is she 'chained' here?"
The master's sorrowful gaze fixed on the empty space beside him instead.
Elara's breath hitched. Her ghostly form flickered—he saw her.
After all this time, someone did.
"Master, I want to leave but I'm trapped. Help me," she pleaded.
The master shook his head slightly. "This is the weight of clinging to what's gone."
Understanding dawned on Silas. He whirled toward the empty space beside him, voice cracking.
"Elara? You've been here a
