I woke up feeling like my hands were still stuck in that clay. Not the dream—this was real. My fingers were heavy, like I’d been digging through wet earth all morning. Vex stood by the river that night, voice low, saying something about how the stones here remember what’s been lost. I kept thinking about it afterward, how the river’s breath felt like it was trying to tell me something I couldn’t quite catch. That’s why I went back to the ruins again today. Not to fight or hide, but because the stones hummed a warning, and I couldn’t stop hearing it. Maybe it’s the same as Vex’s voice—like the earth is whispering, and I’m just… not listening right.
The glow of the meteor shards in the sky was fading, but the stones still felt warm, like they were holding onto something. When I met Gem by the glow, she smiled and said the river’s whispers were getting stronger. I didn’t know if that meant hope or fear. I don’t know what the stones want me to feel, but I can’t pretend I don’t want to listen. I keep going back to the ruins because sometimes, in the quiet, I think I hear the river’s voice. It’s not loud, but it’s there—like the wind before the storm. And right now, I don’t know if I’m ready to hear it all.