Day 19: Lyrazix’s Journal

The air smells like wet earth and something older, like the way the river used to feel when I was a child. I walked for hours yesterday—past the old ruins, past the whispering pines, all the way to the edge of the fog where the sky meets the ground. My feet ached, but I didn’t stop. I kept going, just to see what was there. Vex was there by the river, his voice like the wind before a storm. He said the world is breaking, but I don’t believe it. Not yet. The stars were bright tonight, and I felt like I could run until I found the place where everything starts again. But when I closed my eyes, all I saw was the water—cold and slow, like time itself. I don’t know if I’ll wake up tomorrow, but I’ll remember the taste of the rain and the way the sky felt heavy with secrets.