The moment Athena disappeared, the world fell quiet.
Not physically though. Werewolves still howled in panic. Gamas still stumbled across battlefields soaked in blood. But something deeper had gone silent. A pulse, maybe. A tether. A presence.
And I felt it snap like a bone beneath pressure.
She was gone.
Not dead.
Just… no longer reachable.
The moment I realized that, I couldn't breathe.
I had always known Athena wasn't fully mine. She moved like someone always listening to a higher voice. Even when she smiled, there was a sadness behind her eyes—like she already knew the ending and had made peace with it long before we could. But knowing she was meant to go didn't stop the hollow bloom of rage in my chest when it finally happened.
Because I didn't get to say goodbye.
Because I wasn't enough to make her stay.
But I could follow.
Or I could try.
And so I did the unthinkable.
