The Loom screamed.
Not with sound—but with substance, with unwinding, with a quivering bellow that shook through all depth of existence.
It shook deep in Kael's chest, a vibration like thunder spun into bone. The threads that made up the bedrock of reality—once taut and radiant—now trembled with corruption. Some snapped with bursts of featureless light. Others unraveled to dust, curling into nothingness like ash.
Alongside him, Elira did not move, her own eyes aglow softly as the Crown of Knowing pulsed on her brow. Darker now, whatever it once showed was reduced to shards—half-truths fighting to form in a place where truth itself fell apart.
"This is it," she whispered.
Kael nodded. "We can't go back."
"No," she said. "Only on."
The path ahead was unclear. No doors, no gates. Just the Loom, stretched out and infinite, threads lost like broken stars. And amidst it all—an emptiness that breathed.
The Void.
