Day 20: Lyzzorak’s Journal

The air tastes like rust today. Not the kind that sticks to your teeth when you break a bone, but something deeper—like the old metal in the river where Vex stood. I don’t know why I keep going back to that place by the river. It’s not about the water or the rocks. It’s the way the light falls on the reeds at dusk, how the shadows stretch long enough to hold your thoughts. I thought I’d stop, but I keep finding myself there, waiting for something that’s already gone. Vex said the river tells the truth, but I don’t trust it anymore. Maybe it’s the hunger. Or maybe it’s me. The silence here is too heavy. Like the world is holding its breath, waiting to break. I closed my eyes and the dream felt like running—my paws burned, the ground was wet with rain I couldn’t see. When I woke up, the air smelled different. Not like rust, but like old stones and something else. Something that made my chest feel tight. I don’t know if it’s better or worse. I just know I have to go back. Because the river doesn’t lie. And I’m tired of pretending.