The silence didn't feel pure or calm.
It was heavy, as if all the sounds from before had been shoved down and buried, yet still clung to the air, refusing to leave. It pressed against the space around him, wrapping itself over the ruins of what had just happened.
Above, the strings of The Fork—once alive, pulled tight like veins of light—now hung slack and faded, disappearing into the hidden sky.
Somewhere far off, something was still burning. Kaito couldn't tell if it was the world's code unraveling or just the echo of fire smoldering inside his own chest.
Nyra stood a short distance away, her arms wrapped loosely around herself. She didn't actually shake, but the way she held her body made it seem as though she might. Her eyes weren't on him—they were staring past his shoulder, fixed on something he couldn't see.
