Silence held sway over the ruins for several long seconds.
The midday breeze drifted softly past rusted metal and cracked concrete, yet not one among them spoke immediately after that faint sound had been heard.
"…Aurelia…"
The name seemed to hang suspended in the air.
Simple.
Soft.
Not yet perfect.
But enough to shift the entire atmosphere around them.
Aurelia remained standing perfectly still before that luminous form.
Her gaze fixed upon the indistinct face, which now appeared far more alive than it had ever been before.
The entity beside it moved gently.
Its radiant outlines pulsed rapidly, mirroring the surge of intense emotion rising from the core of its being.
The units positioned further back maintained stability within the network, even though energy levels had spiked quite high following that first attempt at speech.
At last, Kael ran a hand slowly down his face.
"I swear, I've got goosebumps all over."
Orion gave a small nod.
