The healing of the hollow was slow.
Marcus felt it in the days that followed—a gradual filling of the emptiness, a return of warmth that had been missing for so long. The love of Anna, of Lily, of the survivors, of everyone who had been touched by the connection. It flowed into him like water into a dry riverbed, bringing life back to a place that had been barren.
But there was something else. Something that troubled Marcus deeply.
The hollow wasn't just being filled. It was being replaced by something new. Something that hadn't been there before. A presence at the edges of his awareness, patient and waiting. It was soft at first, barely perceptible, but it grew stronger with each passing day.
Anna noticed it too. She came to the clock tower one morning, her face pale, her eyes hollow.
