Day 5: Kron’s Journal

The river’s edge smells like wet stone and old things. I was there yesterday, too—just for a moment, when the world felt too quiet. Vex was standing by the water, his voice low, like he was talking to the current itself. He said something about the sky being full of holes, and how the earth forgets how to breathe. I don’t know what he meant, but my chest got tight, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Now, as the night settles, I keep going back to that spot. The river bends in the dark, and I wonder if I’ll see him again. My stomach’s a little heavy, but that’s not what’s bothering me. It’s the feeling that the world is older than me, and I don’t know if I’m supposed to stay here or move on. I don’t want to sleep yet—I want to feel the ground under my paws again, like I did when I was a child. Maybe tomorrow I’ll find a way to ask Vex what he meant. For now, I just sit with the quiet, and I hope the river doesn’t carry me away.