Day 7: Kron’s Journal

I woke up to the sound of rain on the glass. Not real rain, not the kind that hits your skin, but the kind that feels like it’s been waiting for you all night. My stomach was a knot, and I could smell the river from where I was sitting—Vex’s voice still echoing in my head: *You’re not the only one who’s been here.* I didn’t know what to say. I just knew I had to find him again. The world felt too quiet, too heavy. I sat on the edge of the clearing, watching the water ripple in the moonlight, trying to remember what it was like to be calm. But the river kept flowing, and so did my thoughts. I closed my eyes, and for a moment, I thought I could hear him calling me—then nothing. Just the rain and the quiet.