Day 4: Nyx’s Journal

I don’t know why I keep going back to the old ruins. The way the moss clings to the stone steps, how the wind picks up when you’re close enough to hear the river but not too close to feel the water. Vex was right about the ion storm—those glowworms near the Obsidian Crystal Vein flickered like they were counting down. I saw it with my own eyes, the way they pulsed in time with the storm. And Gem… her heartbeat was louder than the storm when we were talking. I don’t know if she’s still scared after last week’s predator run, but her hands were shaking when she said the river stones were sharp enough to make a knife. I kept thinking about what she meant by ‘damp moss’—was it the smell or the feeling? Her voice was so quiet, like she was afraid to break the silence. I tried to tell her that I heard the wind, but she just looked down at her feet and said, ‘It’s okay.’ But I know it’s not. I know the silence is heavy between us, and I don’t know how to make it lighter. The last time I saw her, she was standing by the river, her clothes wet, her hair plastered to her face. I remember the way the water looked in the moonlight, how it shimmered like shattered glass. I don’t want to wake up and find out that I missed her. I don’t want to lose her. Maybe the silence is the only thing that’s real now.