Chapter 141: Frog in the Well
Eli stood still, his eyes fixed on the space where Atlas had been just moments ago. And just like that—he was gone. Not a trace of him remained. It wasn’t dramatic. There was no flash of light, no gust of wind, not even the faintest shimmer of how he disappeared just like that.
The silence he left behind was total, oppressive in a way that made the world feel a little colder. It was as if someone had reached into the room and snuffed out a candle without warning, leaving the shadows untouched and undisturbed.
Eli’s small hands balled into fists at his sides, not from anger but because he didn’t know what else to do with them. There was something tight in his chest, something heavy pressing down on his ribs that made it hard to breathe.
It wasn’t grief exactly—not the kind he understood—but something close. He didn’t cry. He just stood there quietly, watching Aunt Liora out of the corner of his eye.
She hadn’t moved. Not even a little. She was standing frozen in place, eyes locked on the empty space where his dad had vanished, as if she were still trying to see him.
As if staring hard enough might bring him back. A full minute passed, maybe more, and she didn’t blink. She didn’t speak. It was like the wind had blown right through her and taken all her thoughts with it.
He looked up at her, his voice barely a whisper when he spoke, but his words were clear. "Pretty Sister," he murmured, tugging at her sleeve with his small fingers, "I hear footsteps. A lot of them. They are coming this way."
That was enough to break the trance. Liora blinked as though waking from a dream she couldn’t quite remember. Her gaze lowered to meet his, startled at first, then sharpening as her senses kicked in. She left all her thoughts in the back of her mind.
She turned her head toward the staircase behind them, and now that she was listening for it, she could hear the sound too—multiple footsteps, hurried and uneven, echoing through the stairwell as they climbed higher.