The snow still fell in swirls, covering the valley in white as if to erase the traces of the battle. The wind whistled through the broken trees, carrying the heavy silence that had remained after the Snow Monkey's final roar. Ester stood motionless before the crystalline prison that now contained the beast, watching the steam escape from the cracks in the ice. A faint breath, a distant echo of life—nothing more.
But her eyes weren't on the creature.
They were on the ground.
The footprints.
The signs that confirmed what mattered most. Damon had been there.
And now the snow was beginning to erase his presence, slowly covering the marks as if he had never been there. Ester clenched her fists. The thought of losing him amidst that white immensity made her chest tighten.
"Damn…" she muttered.
