Chapter 41: The Search for the Guide, I
We didn't leave the station that night.
The cold settled in as the bell's echo faded, and none of us said what we were thinking. Clara helped me sit up against the wall while the man who had saved me—silent and calm—cleared the space. He moved with quiet precision, kicking away broken stone and glass with practiced ease. He didn't ask how much I remember. I didn't ask how long he'd known.
The silence wasn't strained. Just full.
I held my breath longer than I should have. I wasn't sure if the air was different or if I was.
Clara sat beside me once the floor was clean. Her eyes looked tired, but not from sleep. She stared at the ground as if waiting for something to appear beneath it.
"I saw you," I said softly.
She didn't look up. "I know."
"I remember everything."
"I know," she said again, even quieter.
The man stepped forward.
"Konrad Stein", he said simply, his voice low but steady. It wasn't a question. It was a quiet confirmation, as if offering his name was an old ritual—something that still held meaning between us, even if we hadn't spoken it in this lifetime.