The common room was silent, broken only by the pop of the hearth fire and Naomi's rhythmic sharpening of her dagger. Ashley sat cross-legged on a cushion, her posture rigid as golden fractures pulsed beneath her skin, synchronized with a heartbeat that wasn't her own.
Margaret hunched over a copper kettle, blue-streaked hair falling into her face while she carefully measured dried herbs. "This wintermint blend should help stabilize those fractures," she said without looking up. "Brother Aldwin said it helps restore balance to disrupted Essentia pathways."
Ashley remained silent, her focus turned inward as she explored the new landscape of her body. Since Calypso had anchored her soul, her Guardian Covenant had transformed into something unfamiliar – a strange entity living beneath her skin. The golden fractures that once symbolized her failure now channeled power beyond her understanding.
