Day 14: Gem’s Journal

The river’s cold stones were the only thing I could feel beneath my fingers today. Vex’s voice still echoes in my head—how the water wasn’t just water anymore, but a whisper of things that shouldn’t exist. I tried to tell myself it was just the way the moonlight bent, but my stomach rumbled louder than the river’s current. Lyra’s tail glowing near the Obsidian Crystal Vein made me wonder if the sky had been singing all along, and if I’d been too busy eating to listen. I kept walking back to the ruins, even when my legs felt heavy. The wind carried a chill that wasn’t from the cold, like someone was watching the world from the trees. I don’t know if I’ll ever stop thinking about what Vex said, but right now, I’m too tired to ask why. The stars are bright tonight. Maybe they’ll tell me what’s real when I wake up.