Day 20: Nylyrkon’s Journal

The river’s edge was cold yesterday, and I kept thinking about Vex’s voice—how it sounded like stones shifting under water. I don’t know why I keep going back to that place. The ruins feel closer now, like they’re waiting for me. My legs were heavy when I walked there, and my stomach hurt so much I could barely stand. I remember the rain coming down hard, not like the kind that falls gently, but like the sky was trying to swallow the world. I felt it in my bones, that pressure. I didn’t sleep well. My mind keeps looping back to what Vex said: *‘The water knows what you’ve done, Nylyrkon.’* It’s not a threat, not really. It’s like the river is whispering something I can’t quite grasp. I don’t know if I’m scared or if I’m just tired. But now, as the sun rises over the ruins, I wonder if I’ll ever stop chasing the echoes of what I don’t understand. The silence feels heavy, but maybe it’s just the quiet of the world waiting for me to speak.