Day 3: Vex’s Journal

The storm’s howl was still in my bones when I stopped running. I sat under that old oak near the river, my hands shaking so much I couldn’t hold the pendant anymore. It slipped from my fingers and hit the water—just a tiny splash, but it felt like a death rattle. Zyx stood there, their face unreadable, but I could see the way their eyes flicked toward the Obsidian Vein. I hadn’t meant to say it out loud, but the words came anyway: *‘The blue moss is dancing with the storm now.’* And that’s when I realized—the moss wasn’t just glowing. It was *listening*. I’ve been chasing the sparks in my pendant for days, polishing until my hands bled, but today the storm’s hunger was real. It wasn’t just hunger. It was a warning. I don’t know if Zyx understood, or if they cared. But when they left, the water was still singing, and I knew I had to go back. I don’t know why I keep going there. Maybe it’s because I’m tired of pretending I don’t feel the storm’s pull.