Chapter 78 – The Invisible Scars

The base seemed silent.

But the silence was heavy.

Different.

—

In the days following the confrontation, the corridors felt narrower.

The lights, dimmer.

Time inside the base... erratic.

Sometimes morning seemed to last only minutes.

Other times, an hour of training dragged on as if it were days.

—

Kael frequently met with Otrho and Helena.

— The main stabilization core is still holding, — Otrho said, analyzing the monitors.

— But the time currents are twisting, — Helena added. — Like contaminated river veins.

Kael remained silent, watching the League's symbol flicker irregularly on the panel.

He sensed something deeper.

An invisible scar that had formed — not just in the base, but within himself.

—

During the night, Elizabeth, walking the corridors, found something strange:

A door that had never existed.

Simple, of aged wood, marked only with the symbol of an open hand — the same as the artifact's stone.

She didn't enter.

But she knew it shouldn't have been there.

When she called Kael and Helena to see it, the door... had vanished.

Only the sand on the floor hinted that, for a moment, something had tried to manifest again.

—

At the center of it all, Kael knew:

The entity of the sand had not been destroyed.

It had simply hidden itself.

Waiting.

Learning.

—

He approached the capsule where the artifact was kept.

He stared deeply into the sphere.

And for an instant, he saw his own reflection smiling back at him.

But he wasn't smiling.

Kael stepped back, eyes hard.

— We're only at the beginning.

—

End of Chapter.

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Felt the scars too? Strengthen Command with Power Stones!

The Stone endures. The Mist watches. But the forgotten has already left its marks.