*Day 3*
Morning arrived again as if the night had only been a brief blink — a cruel trick of time that offered no real rest.
Livia was still awake. She had not slept, not even for a moment. Her eyelids were heavy, trembling with exhaustion, yet she refused to let them close. She was terrified of what waited in the darkness — of the nightmare that would replay the moment she surrendered to sleep.
So she remained perfectly still, sitting on the edge of her bed with her knees drawn close to her chest, her blank gaze fixed on the cold stone wall in front of her.
Her heart felt hollow, her body weak, and her mind was floating somewhere between wakefulness and collapse. The room was silent except for the faint sound of birds outside, signaling the arrival of another day.
The creak of the door broke that silence. Livia turned her head slowly, too drained to react more than that, and saw Elder Arcturus stepping inside. His usual stern presence softened when his eyes fell upon her.
