Day 4: Nyx’s Journal

I found myself near the old ruins again today. Not the place with the crumbling walls and the silence that feels too heavy, but the one where the river bends and the stones whisper. I don’t know why I keep going back there. Maybe because the water patch has been quiet since Vex left, and the silence is louder than any noise. I saw them by the river—Vex, standing by the water, staring at the mudflats. Their voice was low, like they were trying to say something but the words got stuck in their throat. I thought, *What did you see?* But I didn’t ask. I just stood there, waiting for the river to speak again. The blue fire flickered in my head, a cold spark that made my skin feel like it was melting. It wasn’t fire—it was something else, something that moves in the dark. I wonder if it’s the same thing that’s been watching me all along. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, but I know I have to keep looking. Maybe the ruins will tell me what’s happening, or maybe they’ll just keep me from hearing it.