The corridors felt different as Livia walked back to her chamber — lighter, quieter, yet somehow heavier all at once.
Every stone archway, every flicker of torchlight, every step she took down the familiar hallways seemed to hum with a strange finality.
Once inside, she closed the door gently behind her and stood still for a long moment, her heart still racing from what had just happened. Then, slowly, she made her way to the bed and sank down onto the edge of it.
Her hands rested in her lap, trembling ever so slightly.
"I'm leaving", she thought, staring blankly at the floor. "I'm really leaving".
The words didn't feel real. Not yet. Not after all this time.
This chamber — once a cold and foreign place — had become her sanctuary. These walls had witnessed her nightmares, her failures, her tears… but also her victories, her growth, and the strength she had built piece by piece. And now, she was about to step beyond them.
