C85 THE FLAME THAT BROUGHT BACK THE SKY

The first thing Elara sensed was quiet.

Not the peaceful kind that came with sleep — this one was long, heavy, filled with whispers she couldn’t name.

She opened her eyes.

The world surrounding her was no longer earth or sky. It was light — molten gold and shadowy crimson swirling together in slow, deliberate motion. Like flames remembering what it once was.

Elara floated