Chapter 68 — The Shadow Beneath the Light
The light returned to Moonshadow Ridge.
For weeks after the restoration, the mountains hummed softly beneath the sun’s warmth. The rivers ran clear again. The forests whispered with songbirds that had not been heard in generations.
At dawn, when the mist rolled over the peaks, a shimmer of color painted the air — the last lingering echo of the three Hearts’ energy fusing into the world.
Arin often stood at the ridge’s summit, the wind brushing through his hair, Lyra beside him, her hand linked with his.
“You did it,” she said once, eyes glinting in the morning light.
He had smiled. “We did it.”
But deep within him, beneath the peace, something stirred — something small, quiet, and cold.
The Veil had been restored. The balance between light
