Chapter 22 – The Shape of Her Smile
The world didn't bleed for once.
It breathed.
Raen stood at the edge of a quiet fold in the Threadrift. Here, the threads were soft—like gossamer wind curling through forgotten thoughts. No screams. No echoes. No bones.
Only silence.
And silence, in this realm, was sacred.
He collapsed beside a fountain made of melted time. The water glowed pale blue, spinning in lazy spirals against gravity. It sang softly—half lullaby, half eulogy. Raen dipped his hand in.
Warm.
For the first time since falling into this nightmare, something was... kind.
He exhaled.
Then winced.
The wounds from the battle with the Unbound hadn't vanished. His shoulder was scorched where the staff had struck him. Cracks ran across his ribs like lightning etched into skin. His demonmark twitched like a living wound.