[And it will keep your mind from ending up like boiling water.]
Élisa's heart skipped a beat.
She didn't understand everything—at least, not yet. But she grasped the essential truth. Without the bracelet, without that… presence… she would have collapsed. Imploded. Scattered into a thousand thoughts, a thousand screams she could never have contained.
But now—she was still here. Herself. Fragile, yes. But whole.
She looked up.
Dylan was on his knees, close by, growling through what was left of his humanity. Maggie… Maggie lay on the ground, unmoving, her side torn and bleeding. Her axe—blessed by Lady Ondine's mark, worn, loyal—had fallen out of reach, half-buried in the mud among forgotten relics.
And for the first time, Élisa no longer felt fear. Not the kind she knew. There was pain. Chaos. The crushing weight of the unknown pressing against her ribs.
But her hands were no longer shaking.
She stepped forward.
