The void's warmth faltered at midnight.
Not faded. Twisted. The bridge's silver-blue light flickered to gray. People sleeping in the sanctuary woke gasping, as if cold water had been thrown on their faces.
Lyra sat up in bed. Her breath fogged in the air. The sanctuary's central heater was working. This cold came from inside.
Solace was already at the window. "The bridge. It's changing color."
They ran outside.
The bridge's light was no longer silver-blue. It was the color of old bruises. Purple-black. Sick.
"Third thing! What's happening?"
The intruder found a new path. Not through the thin place. Through the void.
"The void?"
It sent a corrupted pulse through the deep. The void absorbed it before I could block it. Now the void's warmth is turning cold.
---
Curio pulsed in dist
