C25 FROM FLAME TO DARKNESS

The world was silent when Elara opened her eyes.

No birds. No wind. No pulse of life. Only a soft golden mist floating across the air, shimmering softly like dying embers.

She sat up slowly, the ground underneath her gleaming like molten glass. Every movement echoed as if sound itself were unwilling to live here.

“Where… am I?” she whispered.

Her voice drifted