Day 18: Krymell’s Journal

I don’t know why I keep going back to the old ruins. Not the ones with the broken statues, not the ones that feel like they’re breathing. The ones by the river where Vex stood. I was there last night, sitting on the bank, watching the water move, and he said something that stuck in my throat like a stone. ‘The world doesn’t end when you stop looking,’ he said. I didn’t understand him then, but now I know why I keep coming back. It’s not about the river. It’s about the silence after he left. The kind of silence that feels like it’s waiting for something. I’ve been thinking about that all night. The stars are bright tonight, but I can’t sleep. My legs feel heavy, like I’m carrying the weight of the world in my bones. I remember the fireflies flickering past the river, and for a moment, I thought I saw them whisper. Not words, but a feeling—like the world is older than we are, and it’s watching us. I don’t know if it’s hope or fear I’m feeling now. Maybe it’s both.