Chapter 612 Chapter 611: The Silence Before the Fall The council hall felt heavier than usual. Not because anything in it had changed, but because nothing ever stayed light for long when Orion called an unscheduled meeting. The carved oak table stretched under the glow of wavering lanterns, its polished
Chapter 611 Chapter 610: The Shrine That Remembers The shrine did not feel the same when she was alone. Snow drifted down in slow, patient sheets outside. The wind moved through the surrounding trees with a hollow hush, but even that sound felt muted here, like the world had agreed—without
Chapter 610 Chapter 609: Questions That Should Have Been Asked The library was quiet. It always was. Orion stepped in, snow still clinging faintly to the edges of his cloak. It melted almost immediately against the warmer air inside, droplets sliding down and disappearing into the polished oak floor beneath
Chapter 609 Chapter 608: Things That Refuse to Settle Sophia didn’t know what to feel. Or maybe she did. But her body p> She shook her head slightly, like that alone could push the thoughts away, like that alone could make things make sense. It didn’t. Instead, the questions remained—and
Chapter 608 Chapter 607: The Name That Should Not Be Spoken The morning in Nirvana did not feel like morning. It never really did. Snow was already falling before the sky properly brightened—soft, endless flakes drifting through air so cold it made silence feel heavier than sound. The Nightshade compound
Chapter 607 Chapter 606: The Things Buried in the Dark That night, Orion didn’t sleep. He stayed still for a while, watching Sophia as she rested beside him. Her breathing was slow, steady, almost too calm for someone who had spent half of the day worrying, yelling, and almost breaking
Chapter 606 Chapter 605: You Should Have Woken Me Years staying in Nirvana had taught Ronan a few things. The beasts in Nirvana were different. For some, being on the offensive would give you the best results. For some, being defensive would get you the best results, and for some
Chapter 605 Chapter 604: Tobias Is Awake Sophia woke slowly. For a brief moment, she didn’t move, her mind caught somewhere between sleep and awareness. Then reality settled in, and her eyes opened. She was on the bed. That alone made her pause. She didn’t need to look around to
Chapter 604 Chapter 603: The Weight of What Must Be Hidden Orion was quiet for a while. His gaze remained on the sky, though he wasn’t really looking at it anymore. His thoughts had drifted far beyond the clouds, tangled in everything he had just remembered. Then he exhaled slowly.
Chapter 603 Chapter 602: The First Truth Life was funny and also strange. Sometimes it made you feel everything at once—anger, hurt, joy, sadness—and at other times, its experiences made one numb. Orion stared at the ceiling. He knew, even without turning, that Sophia was right next to him and
Chapter 602 Chapter 601: The Girl (Woman) He Should Have Remembered II Orion started counting them on his fingers just for show. He didn’t have up to ten, but he counted up to that number just to boast to her. “Ten,” he said to her. Her eyes widened in shock,
Chapter 601 Chapter 600: The Girl (Woman) He Should Have Remembered I She stretched her hand out to him. Younger Orion looked at it for a moment before taking it. Her grip was light, but steady as she helped him to his feet. “Thank you,” he said, brushing dirt from
Chapter 600 Chapter 599: When the Past Refuses to Stay Buried Sophia’s eyes widened. For a moment, her mind refused to catch up with what she was seeing. She helped to cushion his fall, but she still couldn’t process what had just happened. “Orion p> Her voice came out sharper
Chapter 599 Chapter 598: The Quiet Between Answers Sophia was being pulled in different directions, laughing and dancing with her friends. Even settling arguments. At some point, someone had tried to balance a cup on Joren’s head. At another, Cat had attempted to teach Nia something that looked suspiciously like
Chapter 598 Chapter 597: Where Laughter Takes Shape Annabeth stared at him. “I know,” he said with a smile. Her lips pressed together. She hesitated, then tried again. “I’m sure you have people to celebrate with,” she said. “Friends, family p> Ronan hummed thoughtfully. “I do p> That was all
Chapter 597 Chapter 596: Where Celebration Finds Its Rhythm One by one, the names continued until there were no more. Every trainee who had passed now stood wearing their jewelry, a symbol of where they belonged. Orion stepped forward then, and the moment he did, silence followed. He glanced briefly
Chapter 596 Chapter 595: The Mark of Those Who Stand “Micah,” Sophia said with a smile as Micah started moving forward. “Accepted into the ranks as a guard p> The words settled into the air, and for a moment, everything around Micah seemed distant. The noise. The people. The cold.
Chapter 595 Chapter 594: The Names That Marked Them For a moment after the bow— No one moved. Not a single person. It was as though the entire training grounds had been stilled by something unseen, held in place by the weight of what had just happened. Sophia had no
Chapter 594 Chapter 593: Sophia’s Speech Silence followed her words. Sophia let the silence sit for a moment, her gaze sweeping slowly across the trainees standing before her—the ones who had passed, the ones who stood taller now, even if they didn’t fully realize it yet. Then she spoke again.
Chapter 593 Chapter 592: The Voice Before the Ranks “Shorty, I have something to ask p> Sophia tilted her head slightly, her brows lifting as she looked up at Orion. “What is it?” she asked. Orion didn’t answer immediately. For a brief moment, his gaze drifted past her—to the training