The room lingered in silence a moment longer after Mireille's gaze left Alex.
No one stopped her when she turned.
"I'll speak to him," she said softly, though it sounded more like a promise to herself than to them.
Zave gave a small nod. No one else moved.
Mireille didn't look back again as she stepped out of the room, the door closing behind her with a muted click.
The corridor greeted her with the same stillness as before, but now it felt different, thinner, as though the air itself had been stretched tight. The spirit stones hummed faintly above, their pale glow tracing her path as she walked. The silence no longer felt calm, instead it pressed in around her, quiet but insistent.
At first, her steps were measured.
Then, gradually, they quickened.
Ryven.
