The sun had not risen.
But the darkness no longer belonged to the night.The sky was a heavy, gray curtain, slowly unfolding—casting the echo of day across the land.Scattered stones, broken branches, and weary bodies—all carried the weight of yesterday into today.
The camp was silent.But this silence was not empty.It was filled with meaning—things unseen, unspoken, yet shared. A quiet bond etched in fatigue and survival.
Fade was the first to awaken.
He rose from the edge of a curled rock, brushing the dust from his clothes.The strange vibration in his legs remained—but by dawn, it felt just a little more like his own.
Zeyna opened her eyes next. She sat up quietly, glancing at Fade. She didn't speak.Her expression had settled into a quiet acceptance—not out of understanding, but routine.She knew he'd changed. And she'd stopped fighting it.
