The world returned in whispers.
At first, there was only wind — slow, rhythmic, carrying the smell of rain and ash. Then came the sound of waves against rock, the low hum of something vast breathing beneath the surface.
Ethan opened his eyes.
He was lying on a shore made of silver sand. The sky above him glowed faintly pink, fractured by ribbons of blue light that twisted like auroras. For a long moment, he didn’t move. His body felt weightless — not because of numbness, but because it wasn’t completely there. When he looked down, faint lines of light pulsed beneath his skin.
“Maya?” His voice broke against the soft wind.
Only the sea answered.
He pushed himself to his feet, swaying slightly. The horizon stretched into infinity, dotted with fragments of what looked like floating stru
