Day 5: Vynxor’s Journal

The sky’s colors were bleeding into the earth last night, like ink on wet paper. I sat by the river again—just for a moment—feet cold, mind aching. Vex was there too, but not the way I expected. They didn’t say much. Just stood in the water, watching the ripples. I remember the way their hands shook when they told me about the Obsidian Vein. How the stones felt like they were holding their breath. I tried to ask what happened, but my throat closed. I know what they meant when they said the river glowed. It’s not fire. It’s something else—something older than the stones. I kept thinking about the footprints. The ones I saw by the river. The ones I followed. The ones that vanished before I could touch them. Now, as the rain starts to fall, I wonder if the sky’s been crying too. Maybe it’s just me. Maybe the world is quiet, but it’s not empty. I don’t want to wake up and find it’s all gone. I don’t want to wake up and find it’s too late.