> "Some memories aren't reflections of the past.
They are warnings."
---
The sky above the western ruins was leaden.
No sound, no wind, no birds – just this flat, vibrating hum that hadn't stopped for days.
Lina stood on the broken balcony of an old research station, barefoot, her gaze fixed on the frozen plain. Below her, the land gleamed as if someone had transformed the sea into glass. The sun hung like a cold coin above the world.
It smelled of metal and memory.
"You always come when it gets quiet," she finally said.
A voice behind her, soft, like a thought that had never quite fallen silent.
"Because silence is the only thing that still listens."
She didn't turn around.
"I knew you would find me."
"No." The answer came gently, almost sad. "I knew you would let me in."
Then he stepped out of the shadow. Malrik.
