The blinding green glow of the emerald pulsed against my palm, casting long, ethereal shadows across the crumbling obsidian floor of the ruined dreamscape. As the echoes of Clover's dark proclamation faded into the freezing gloom, the shattering sky suddenly froze mid-fracture.
The air grew unnaturally still. The silence that followed was heavy, suffocating, and absolute.
I turned around, my fingers clutching the warm, glowing gem tightly against my chest. Through the thinning gray fog, a tall, slender figure emerged from the void, stepping slowly toward me.
