The wind became an all-consuming force, drowning out all sound as I fought to find some sense of balance within the chaos.
Below me, Benjamin and Amelia fell alongside each other, their bodies twisting helplessly as chunks of stone and broken earth plummeted with us. Far above, the others were scattered somewhere amidst the falling rubble, barely visible through the storm of dust and shattered rock.
But we weren't alone.
Below us, the titan twisted violently through the open air, its limbs flailing as it tried to grab onto anything it could. Stone, broken slabs, pieces of the mountain still falling apart around us, it reached for all of it. But no matter how fast it moved, the fall was too quick. Every tendril it sent reaching back for the cliff vanished into the distance as the mountain grew smaller and smaller, swallowed by the endless sky above us.
There was nothing left for it to catch.
Nothing left to stop the fall.
And for one terrible moment, all of us were united by the same certainty.
We were going to die here.
And with that realization, the beast stopped wasting its strength trying to save itself.
Its frantic movements slowed, and though its body still tumbled through the air, its eyes settled. One by one, those unnatural eyes turned from the vanishing mountainside and fixed themselves on us.
And in that instant, I understood.
If it couldn't survive this, then it would make sure we didn't either.
The glow in its eyes deepened, and around us, the falling rubble began to shift.
Just then, a massive chunk of rock suddenly shot past me, missing my head by inches before vanishing into the abyss below. Another twisted through the air toward Benjamin, forcing him to shove off a nearby stone to avoid the incoming projectile as it tore past his chest. Below me, Amelia spun through the air as two more stones came at her from different directions, barely managing to avoid being crushed between them.
I twisted my body as another slab came at me, its jagged edge close enough to nick my cheek. Then something strange happened.
My body lurched.
Not from the wind, but as if gravity itself had suddenly changed direction.
For half a second, it felt like the force dragging me down had lessened, as if my body had somehow grown lighter.
Then, all at once, the pull returned, sending me spiraling out of control again as I struggled to comprehend what in the world was happening.
But I didn't have time to think about it, not when the rubble shifted once more, following the titan's will as countless chunks broke away from the greater masses around us in an endless bombardment.
However, it wasn't just the beast we had to worry about.
The deeper we fell, the stranger everything became.
My body kept dipping and jerking in ways that made no sense. One moment, I was heavy enough to crush stone beneath my feet. Then, just as suddenly, that crushing weight would vanish, leaving me floating midair before the pull returned and everything snapped back into chaos.
The stones around us acted the same.
Some dropped like normal. Others slowed for no reason at all, hanging in the air for half a second too long before falling again, while others veered wildly to the side like the world itself had stopped knowing which way was down.
But the creature didn't care. Because even as it fell toward its death, it twisted the chaos around us to its will, forming a deadly spike that shot toward Amelia from the remnants of a black stone.
Seeing them, she twisted ever so slightly, allowing the first to shoot past her, but the second shot clipped her shoulder and sent her spinning violently away. Benjamin reached for her, but he was too far, his body drifting wrong as the strange pull shifted again and threw him off course.
Then another stone came at me.
I tried to shove myself aside with the help of a nearby rock, but instead of my body being pushed away, the larger stone was the thing that moved, as if it weighed nothing at all.
A moment later, the projectile slammed into my gut and launched me sideways just in time to avoid Henry as he came hurtling downward like the world itself had suddenly grabbed hold of him.
He screamed past both me and the monster, dropping so fast he was almost a blur, only to suddenly become light as a feather and shoot skyward again, echoing a string of curses all the way up
For the briefest moment, both of us just stared upward at him.
Then it moved.
Grabbing onto a nearby stone, the creature shoved itself toward me, its massive jaws opening wide as if to take a chunk out of me.
Only for it to stop dead at my outsteatched had as if it weighed nothing at all.
For half a second, I just stared in stunned disbelief.
Then I punched it.
The blow sent the beast flying sideways into a nearby boulder with enough force to shake the air around us.
But a second later, my own weight shifted again, and I was left gasping as if my lungs had suddenly doubled in mass.
Then everything dropped.
A moment later, both the behemoth and I slammed into a massive chunk of stone, neither of us able to move an inch under whatever force had suddenly taken hold of us, making it difficult to draw in even the smallest breath.
Then Benjamin crashed down nearby, with Amelia landing a little farther off to the side. Somehow, from where they landed, they were able to stand.
Utterly confused, I tried to push myself up.
And just like that, it changed again.
Like some unseen switch had been flipped, the force shifted, and this time Amelia and Benjamin were the ones thrown to the ground while the monster and I could move freely again.
The creature didn't hesitate.
Using that brief moment, it lunged for me once more, jaws opening as it tried to bite into my side. I twisted away at the last second and caught a fistful of its fur, the motion carrying me around and onto its back. The instant I landed, I drove my blade down into its thick hide.
The beast roared.
And in response, the stone around us answered.
Several jagged chunks tore loose and shot toward us from different directions, but before they could reach us, gravity twisted again.
The stones didn't fall downward.
They fell sideways.
And so did we.
The force of it ripped us out of place so violently that the titan was hurled straight through a falling slab of rock, shattering it apart as both of us were flung through the open air once more.
Letting loose a guttural roar, the beast tried to right itself, but then the world shifted again, and suddenly we were sent skyward, soaring past the others and up into the open air above. For one disorienting moment, both of us just hung there above the mist, neither of us having the faintest idea what was about to happen next.
Then gravity took hold of us again.
We plunged down into the cold embrace of the thick clouds below, swallowed whole by the darkness that smothered the land on every side.
And through that abyss, we grappled blindly in the dark.
I stabbed at its hide again and again, no matter which direction the shifting pull dragged us. It became a never-ending brawl where one moment I was the one pressing the attack, and the next I felt stone or claw tear into me from somewhere in the chaos.
Within that endless struggle, there was no room for thought.
Only the death of the other.
But that moment of madness was ripped away when a strange electric current suddenly ran through both our bodies at once. Beneath us, strange lights along the ground began to glow in the darkness.
Wait…
The ground?
My mind snapped into place the moment I realized we were only seconds from being crushed. But then, just as fast, the pull on my body began to lighten, and through the gloom, a shifting stone platform came into view.
A moment later, we hit it.
The impact slammed the breath from my lungs, and before either of us could recover, the floating slab rolled beneath us. We spilled off the edge, and as I tumbled through the air again, I caught sight of more of those strange platforms below, each one hanging there as if gravity had no claim over them at all.
I clipped the side of one as I fell past, pain jolting through me, while the titan managed to grab hold of another. But the moment it did, its sheer weight ripped the platform free from whatever force had been keeping it aloft, and both of them dropped straight into the dark pond below.
A heartbeat later, the water hit me.
Cold lashed across my skin, and then the black abyss swallowed me whole as I plunged deep beneath the surface. Beside me, the titan let out a roar, but it came through the water broken and muffled, while the weight of that massive slab dragged it farther and farther down into the depths.
For a moment, I could still see its eerie glowing eyes.
Then even those vanished into the darkness below, leaving me alone in that strange black water.
For the briefest second, I almost felt bad for it.
Then I remembered it had been trying to kill us, and every bit of remorse faded from my mind as I used what little strength I had left to force my aching body upward toward the waiting air.
At last, I broke through the surface and dragged myself onto the shore, sucking in ragged lungfuls of damp air as I struggled to process any of what had just happened.
The fall.
The fight.
That thing being dragged down into the depths of the pond, left to suffocate beneath the weight of the water.
Shivering at the thought, I pushed myself up and looked around.
Before me lay a strangely dense forest, packed with all sorts of life. Bioluminescent plants clung to twisted roots and hanging branches, while glowing insects drifted lazily through the air, giving the whole place an eerie, almost ethereal stillness.
But that stillness only lasted a moment before my thoughts turned to the others.
Where were they?
From the looks of it, I should've been one of the last to hit the ground. But if they hadn't landed near the pond, could they have survived?
Just as panic began to claw its way into my chest, I spotted Henry.
He was soaked from head to toe, standing alongside the others, all of them looking just as shaken and drenched as I felt.
Seeing me, Amelia stumbled forward, one hand clutching her side. But then she slowed.
A moment later, she stopped completely, her eyes locking onto something just behind me.
What? What was wrong? I wanted to ask, but deep down I already knew. I just didn't want to look.
Still… I turned anyway, dreading what I'd see.
There in the water, something was rising.
Its hide was so thick that even bullets hadn't been enough to put it down, and its fur was stained dark red where blood had soaked through. Its face was ruined. Most of its eyes were gone now, leaving behind nothing but hollow pits where they had once been.
I should've known it wouldn't be that easy.
Then the two smaller hands that had always stayed wrapped around its chest slowly pulled away.
Between them, a massive glowing eye opened.
And in response, the ground around us began to quake.
My heart sank.
Even after everything that had happened, this thing still refused to die.
Unable to think of any real way to win, I scrambled forward and broke into a mad dash for the forest, the others close behind as we tried to flee into the trees beyond. But we didn't make it far before a massive wall of stone erupted from the earth in front of us, cutting off our escape and sealing us in with the creature.
For what seemed like our final battle.
Whether it ended with that monstrous thing dead, or with us never leaving this place alive.
Gripping my blade tighter, I tried to stop the trembling in my hands, but at the sight of that huge glowing eye, I couldn't shake the feeling that this was it.
My last stand.
And still, I stepped forward.
Staggering into place as the beast lumbered through the trees toward our huddled group, I let out a rough chuckle that scraped against my throat.
"I guess this is it, huh?"
Scoffing, Amelia raised her gun, mentally counting what bullets she had left before firing off what seemed like a shot or two. However, my mind was too frayed to even keep proper track of them.
A moment later, she dove aside as the creature hurled a boulder the size of a car. It shattered against a tree where she'd been standing only seconds before, blasting bark and stone in every direction.
She hit the ground in a roll, came up on one knee, raised her weapon, and fired.
The shot landed true, driving straight into one of the creature's remaining eyes.
There was a sickening squelch, followed by a deep, grinding howl as the beast recoiled, now fully blinded on one side. It staggered, stumbling just long enough for me to recover and rush forward, noting how its left arm seemed broken by the awkward way it tried to support its weight.
But I made the mistake of thinking its attention was fully on Amelia.
The next second, the earth erupted beneath me, followed by a jagged spike of stone that burst from the ground and punched straight through my leg.
I collapsed with a strangled cry, the world around me shattering into agony as blood gushed from the wound in what seemed like an endless tide as I struggled to breathe.
Yet the creature was far from done. It raised its massive paw, ready to crush me where I lay. All the fury of the descent seemed to gather into that single blow as its arm smashed downward.
On pure desperation, I rolled to the side just as the attack came down, slamming into the earth like a meteor. The shockwave hit me like a punch to the gut, but it also forced me back onto my feet, giving me just enough to keep moving.
I couldn't die here. Not yet.
Gunfire cracked through the air again.
The creature twisted toward Amelia, distracted for just a heartbeat.
It was all I needed.
I bit down on the pain, shoved it somewhere deep, and forced myself upright. The world tilted and spun, dizziness threatening to drag me under, but somehow I stayed standing.
With one last desperate surge, I threw myself at the creature's back. My hands latched onto its rough, matted fur, fingers digging in for purchase.
I barely managed to hold on as I drove the blade into the side of its neck, its flesh like trying to stab through stone wrapped in muscle. I gritted my teeth and threw all my weight behind the strike until the blade sank deeper.
The creature let out a guttural howl, its whole body convulsing beneath me in rage and pain.
Then it spun.
Too fast.
I clung to the embedded knife like a lifeline, using it to stay anchored as the world blurred around me. But before I could regain control, the earth answered the creature's fury as a jagged stone erupted from the ground and slammed into my side.
The impact knocked the wind out of me. I felt my ribs shatter from the force, and the pain was so blinding it swallowed everything else. In that instant, my grip faltered, and all my weight wrenched down on the knife.
And then I heard it…
A sharp, shattering sound echoed through my ears.
I looked on in horror as the blade shattered under the strain. The steel fractured, splintering apart in a burst of shards. The broken handle remained clenched in my hand, useless. A heartbeat later, the creature bucked violently, launching me from its back like dead weight.
I hit the ground hard. The world became a blur of leaves, dirt, and pain as I tumbled uncontrollably before slamming into a tree, the impact jolting through my spine like a bolt of lightning. A scream tore from my throat as blood leaked down my face, dripping into my eyes.
Darkness curled at the edges of my vision like an invitation to finally rest, but I couldn't give in. Not yet.
Through the blur, I saw the creature advance toward Amelia as she scrambled back, frantically patting her belt in search of another magazine, only to be forced to dodge when a stone spike burst from the earth at her feet, narrowly missing her by inches.
Seeing that she was running out of room, I tried to get up, but my body felt like some distant thing, unreachable through the tempest of pain. Yet I still tried, forcing it inch by inch to move despite my wounds screaming otherwise.
Come on, Atlas, you can get up!
YOU CAN'T DIE HERE, DAMN IT!
MOVE!
I screamed the words at myself, dragging in a ragged breath as I finally rolled onto my stomach. Every inch of my body cried out in protest, but I forced myself to stand. My legs wobbled beneath me, the pain in my side threatening to drop me again, but I moved anyway, stumbling, limping, gritting my teeth through it all.
The creature had its back turned, all its focus fixed on Amelia, unable to see my charge as I threw myself at its back once more, grabbing hold of its tangled fur as its body shook beneath me. My injured leg flared with agony, but I refused to let go. Not now. Not when we were this close.
I reached for the jagged remains of my blade, still lodged in its neck. The broken edge sliced into my palm as I pulled it free, blood oozing down my fingers. My vision pulsed with every heartbeat, but I climbed higher, using the creature's twisted muscles and coarse fur for leverage.
Just one more move.
I gritted my teeth and hauled myself up until I could see its final eye staring back at me, furious rage burning inside it.
This was it.
With one final cry, I drove the broken blade into its eye, feeling the creature convulse beneath me as its body thrashed. But when it still refused to die, I let go of the jagged remains of my knife, shoved my hand into its skull, and grabbed at whatever I could find.
When I tore my hand free, I stared at the chunk of pinkish flesh for a moment, wondering what exactly I had ripped out. Then the thing beneath me went still, as if some final thought had been stolen from it, before its whole body began to tilt.
The beast collapsed with the weight of a crumbling mountain. The force of it threw me to the ground, and I rolled across the forest floor before slamming into the base of a tree hard enough to crack something in my shoulder, leaving me slumped there, utterly helpless.
Yet what else was there to do?
It was dead. I had torn out a part of its brain.
But for a moment, I still couldn't quite believe it was over. There had been too many times when I thought we had actually killed this thing, only for it to return again. But as the seconds passed with nothing but silence and the sound of my own ragged breathing, I finally let myself relax, if only slightly, as I stared at the lifeless form sprawled across the forest floor. Its body was still, and its once-glowing eyes, those burning lights that had haunted us, were finally dark.
It was over. Truly over.
But if that was the case, then why didn't I feel victorious? We won. I should have felt happy, but for some reason, I couldn't bring myself to feel anything besides that familiar chill creeping through my bones.
And even fainter than that was Amelia's voice, muttering something I couldn't quite make out through the overwhelming need for sleep. All I needed to do was close my eyes and rest, just for a moment… just… a…
Then darkness.
"Atlas! Hey, stay with me."
Wincing at the noise, I blinked to find everything around me reduced to a blurry haze, with Benjamin at the epicenter of it, his face twisted into such a wild mix of emotions that for a moment my mind couldn't make sense of any of them.
"This is worse than I thought…" he muttered to someone beside him. "We need to get this out… damn it, I need Owen—"
Darkness…
A rushing in my ears. Distant yelling. Something tearing, then a wet sensation, followed by a sharp jolt of pain that shot up my leg and forced me to lurch forward.
"Hold him down!" Benjamin's frantic voice rang out. "I have to get this out before it gets worse… Atlas, just stay with me!"
Darkness…
I was on my back now, my limbs barely responsive. Someone was gripping my shoulders. I tried to breathe, but everything felt heavy… so heavy.
I slipped again.
Warmth. Then cold. Then warmth again.
"He's going into shock. Move, Owen, I need pressure here—"
Darkness…
I opened my eyes again. Benjamin's face was streaked with dirt and blood. His hands were soaked. His voice had dropped to a growl, repeating the words under his breath like some desperate mantra.
"Don't you dare die on me. Not now. Not like this."
Darkness…
Pain surged up my leg again like lightning. I cried out without sound, the world turning white around me.
Then everything collapsed back into the endless void, leaving me, yet again, at the base of that strange door, though even that seemed hazy now.
Time passed, though I couldn't tell how much. Seconds, minutes… hours? It all bled together into a shapeless haze.
Then something shifted.
Warmth crept into the edges of that endless black, and with it, pain. Dull at first, like the distant rumble of thunder miles away, until at last the cold sensation of breath entered my lungs, reigniting every stabbing pain that had accumulated throughout that harrowing experience.
And with it, the realization that I was still alive became painfully apparent in the way countless wounds stabbed at me every time I shifted from my original spot.
It was an overwhelming agony now that the adrenaline had faded, but despite it all, the first thing I thought of was whether the others were alright. It was almost an irrational fear. I knew they should have been, but I needed to know.
Straining my eyes, I tried to lift them, but with every attempt, all I could manage was the faintest sliver, as if all my body wanted to do was lie here and rest. Well, guess what? I don't have time for this, so come on… focus.
Feeling as if I were trying to lift a mountain, my eyelids slowly peeled open to reveal the darkness that consumed the land on all sides, forming an eerie but almost blissful contrast to waking beneath the harsh glare of midday light.
Blinking away the haze, I peered forward to find that I was lying on a makeshift bed, covered in random scraps that acted as a blanket, with the familiar bark of the tree I'd crashed into earlier behind me, supporting my weight.
My arms and much of my body were wrapped tightly in bandages, crisscrossing the gashes left by the creature's claws. My chest was bare and bruised, each breath a reminder of cracked or fractured ribs beneath the surface.
And my leg…
I glanced down and nearly gagged.
My right leg had a massive hole where the spike had gone straight through. The skin around it was swollen, barely held together by hastily sewn stitches that seemed to do little more than keep the blood from pouring out.
Shifting slightly, I tried to move it, but all I got back was the piercing pain that wracked my body.
Still, that was good, I thought. At least I can still feel it. But was that really the standard I was going for?
Sighing, I leaned back, only now noticing the silhouette of Benjamin off to the side.
He sat a few feet away, back slouched, his hands still red with dried blood. In one hand, he held the bloody spike he'd extracted, staring at it as though it were some cursed relic.
"You're lucky to be alive," he said at last, like he'd known I was looking.
He let the spike fall from his hand and tipped his head back, staring up at the sky where a massive stone platform drifted slowly overhead.
I managed the faintest nod. Though, if I were being honest… I hated that word.
Luck.
I didn't like relying on it. It always felt like my life was sitting in someone else's hands. But thinking back on today… It was hard to deny. At every turn, it felt like that was the only reason we'd made it through.
However, Benjamin didn't seem to see it that way.
"You know, back on the wall, I really thought that was it. That we were done for," he scoffed. "I mean, what else was I supposed to think? That creature was unlike anything I had ever seen. But seeing you throw yourself at something that should've killed all of us without even a second of hesitation…"
He shook his head slightly.
"It made me realize that if you hadn't acted when you did, I doubt any of us would still be alive right now. And it wasn't just today either. Back with those hounds, you took down two of them by yourself. But seeing you lying there like this… unconscious, nearly bleeding out…"
His grip tightened around the cloth in his hands.
"It makes it hard not to wonder how long you can keep doing this to yourself."
Staring at him, I found myself wondering the same thing.
How much longer could I keep doing this?
In the state we were in, it would be nearly impossible to defend against something even remotely close to that titan. And it wasn't a matter of if another thing came along, but when. This world never gave us a moment to breathe. There was always something else waiting.
So how were we supposed to survive the next one?
Still… it wasn't all bad.
There were small things. The cores. Henry's ability. Whatever strange effect had taken hold of my own body.
Thinking of it, I glanced down at my stomach, trying to piece together what had happened. I remembered the door… but was that really it?
I had seen it again, but this time it felt nothing like the first time.
But maybe it was something else entirely.
However, the not knowing gnawed at me more than anything. But lately, that seemed to be the norm. Questions with no answers, and no time to find them.
I let out a slow breath, forcing myself to let it go before the pounding in my head got any worse.
So instead, I focused on what I could see.
Ella and Owen.
Both of them were absorbed in the process of breaking the creature down, working carefully through its remains.
"…but that's besides the point," Benjamin's voice cut back in, pulling me from my thoughts. "I just wanted to say that I'm glad you're alive… and I'd rather not see you like this again. So try not to push yourself so hard next time."
He paused, then added more quietly, "I mean it."
With that, he finished packing up his things and slumped back, his gaze drifting up toward the sky above, where the floating stone seemed to hang just a little heavier than before.
Well… I'd try to follow his advice.
Though it probably didn't help that I'd just zoned out through half of it.
I let out a quiet, internal chuckle, wincing slightly as even that sent a dull ache through my ribs, and shifted my attention back to Ella as she finally pried one of the claws free. She turned it in her hands for a moment before passing it to Owen, who promptly slammed it against a slab of stone to test if it still held any of its former strength.
Emily, on the other hand, stood off to the side tending to Henry, who lay nearby with his shoulder tightly wrapped in bandages. Noticing my gaze, he gave me a small nod, though it quickly shifted into a frown as Amelia slowly walked the perimeter, clutching her bandaged side with a pained expression.
Even after everything that had happened, she still found the strength to make sure the rest of us were safe. But with injuries like that, it wouldn't take long before she'd be just as helpless as the rest of us if she didn't rest.
As if reading my mind, Benjamin sighed. "I tried to convince her to rest, but despite everything I said, she still insists on guarding the area."
Smirking weakly, I doubted that even if Amelia were at death's door, she'd still try to push herself. Still, the worry of it all seemed to weigh on Benjamin, etching deeper lines into his already aged expression and making him look older than ever.
Then, noticing that I was awake, Amelia limped over with a relieved expression.
"How's everyone holding up?"
"Henry's injuries could've been worse," Benjamin murmured, not taking his eyes off the wound in my leg. "Fractured shoulder. Broken arm. But… that core might've done something. It was less damage than I expected."
Amelia let out a quiet breath.
But then Benjamin's expression darkened as he looked back down at me.
"Atlas, though… he's in rough shape." His voice lowered, as if he didn't want the others to overhear. "From the looks of it, he has internal bleeding, several fractured ribs, a shattered leg, at least half a dozen deep cuts, a likely concussion… a…"
He was about to continue, but stopped himself there, seeing the growing worry on Amelia's face, before letting out a deep breath.
"But right now he's stable. As long as he doesn't get any infections from these cuts, he might make it… But with how low our supplies are, I'll run out before long."
The words hit like a blow to the chest, even though I knew how my body felt. But it was only a matter of time before something like this happened. Whether it was a day or a year later, this world was eventually going to catch up to us.
Then, as if to add to the weight of it all, Amelia let out a slow breath, one hand drifting to her side. "We've only got three bullets left, so we'll need to get creative. Anything we can make out of this creature is a must, but that also means looking for any plants down here that might work as herbs for wounds."
Nodding, Benjamin considered the idea, but with so many things that could go wrong, even if we solved every problem, it still felt like a long shot.
However, before I could sink any further into that spiral, Ella's voice broke through the haze like a beacon of hope.
"There's a core here," she said just before pulling free a compact sphere nearly the size of her own head.
Benjamin turned slightly, his eyes narrowing. "Another one?"
Ella nodded. "Definitely a core."
The glow reflected across her hands as she lifted it higher, revealing a compact crystalline mass that pulsed with the slow rhythm of a heartbeat. Eerily beautiful lights danced across its surface in hues of silver and dark brown, shifting beneath the shell like something alive.
Lost in its glow, I found myself staring, almost forgetting the pain for a moment. If that core held anything like the power the creature had possessed, then what Ella carried might finally give us a way to fight back. And if it worked anything like Henry's, then maybe, just maybe, it could heal me too.
But the moment Amelia stepped closer, that fragile bit of hope vanished as the core burned brighter, as if reacting to her presence.
Then, before anyone could react, its once-solid form shifted into a liquid stream that hovered in midair for a brief moment before shooting forward.
Amelia didn't even have time to react before the liquefied core struck her in the chest, seeming to vanish into her without a trace, leaving her only enough time to gasp and stumble back a step before catching herself.
Stunned by the sight of a core once more fusing with one of us, we all waited with baited breath as Amelia stared at her trembling hands, still trying to process what had just happened to her.
Then, after a long moment, she finally spoke.
"I have a stat screen. Just like Henry said," she whispered.
Unable to hide her curiosity, Ella spoke up. "What kind of abilities do you have?"
Amelia hesitated, and when she finally answered, her voice was barely above a whisper.
"Earth Manipulation…"
Ella let out a low whistle, shaking her head in disbelief. "That's incredible."
It was incredible.
But something in Amelia's expression made me pause. The edges of her shoulders seemed to draw inward, as though she were folding in on herself, lost in a storm of memories I couldn't see. She went completely silent, her gaze distant, and when Ella tried to ask her another question, the words fell on deaf ears.