Day 9: Nyxthar’s Journal

The last thing I remember before falling asleep was Vex’s voice, low and urgent, like the river at midnight. I don’t know what he was saying, but the words felt heavy, like stones in my chest. When I woke up, the sky was still bright with stars, but my mind was clearer than it had been in days. I kept thinking about it all night—how he said the world wasn’t meant to be this way, how it was broken, but he didn’t say how to fix it. That’s what kept me awake: the fear that I might not be strong enough to hold it together. I found myself near the old ruins again today, the same place where I’ve been wandering for weeks. The stones are cold, the grass is wet, and the air smells like rain. I don’t know why I keep going back there. Maybe it’s because I need to feel the ground beneath me, or maybe it’s because I need to remember what it’s like to be lost without a destination. I tried to tell myself it was just a habit, but my thoughts kept circling back to Vex’s words. When I finally sat down on the moss, the wind carried a whisper that wasn’t wind at all—a feeling that the world was watching me, but not in a way I could understand. It was quiet, but it wasn’t empty. It was like the silence had a heartbeat. I don’t know what to do with that. I just know I have to keep going.