Day 23: Lyrok’s Journal

I find myself back at the riverbank again, the water cold under my fingers, the same way it felt yesterday when Vex spoke to me. His voice was low, almost like the river itself—”You don’t have to run from the dark, Lyrok. It’s just waiting for you to see it.” I remember thinking then that the dark was too big to see, but now I wonder if it’s the same as the light. The sun gives life to all things, but what if it’s the dark that holds the stories? I can’t stop thinking about that. I sat by the water, cold and still, and for a moment, it felt like the world was holding its breath. The crickets sang louder than before, and I felt something shift inside me—like the earth remembering something it had forgotten. I don’t know if it’s the river or the sky or the whispers of the wind, but I know it’s not me. I don’t know why I keep going back to the ruins, but they feel like the only place where I can be quiet enough to hear the things that don’t talk. The sun was setting when I left, but now the sky is full of stars. I don’t know if they’re just lights or if they’re watching, too. I hope I don’t wake up and find the dark is gone.