The world folds around them. One moment they stand on trembling earth, time unraveling under Aleysia's grief, and the next they arrive in the throne hall of Olympus.
At the center of the hall, Artemis is still kneeling, holding Medusa carefully in her arms. The change is visible immediately. Medusa is no longer pale, no longer lifeless, but she hasn't yet awakened. Her body rests against Artemis with fragile stillness, caught somewhere between death and return.
Zeus notices Aleysia the moment she appears. For the first time, he sees the one who carries the power of time. She looks young, unmistakably human at a glance, but there's nothing ordinary about her presence. Her beauty is almost unnerving, as if shaped too carefully to be natural, then sharpened just enough to make an indelible mark on anyone who looks at her.
