Day 3: Kron’s Journal

I found myself near the old ruins again. Not the ones with the broken arches and the whispering stones—no, these were the ones where the light bends wrong, like water. My stomach was still a knot from yesterday’s meal, but the real ache was in my chest. Vex’s voice echoed in my head: *‘You’re still haunted by what you saw, aren’t you?’* I didn’t know what he meant, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it. The stars were brighter tonight, sharp and cold. For a moment, I wondered if the sky was watching me—like the ones in the stories Lyra tells. I closed my eyes and felt the wind catch my hair, then something else: a soft hum, not in the air but *inside* me. It wasn’t a voice, not really. Just a knowing that lingered after the last thought faded. My legs felt heavy when I got up, but I kept walking. Maybe I should’ve stayed. Maybe I should’ve gone back to the river where Vex stood. But the light was too strong, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was being pulled toward something deeper than the ground.