(Solomon's POV)
Reality returned.
Violently.
The white expanse shattered.
The battlefield exploded back into existence.
Sound.
Light.
Motion.
Everything crashed together at once.
I staggered.
The broken sky stretched overhead.
The abyss churned below.
The Devourer waited.
And Mirabel—
Mirabel was crying.
I had never seen her look like that.
Not when she first faced death.
Not when she carried a million souls.
Not even when the world nearly ended.
This was different.
This was the face of someone being asked to sacrifice something no one else could understand.
The First Dream stood beside her.
Silent.
Waiting.
The universe itself seemed to hold its breath.
Then the Devourer laughed.
The sound was ugly.
Desperate.
Triumphant.
"You see?"
The abyss stretched across
