The chamber did not change for a long time.
That was what unsettled Rue Yim the most.
Not the silence. Not the stillness.
The fact that the world continued as if something irreplaceable had not just been taken from it.
Wang Si's body lay where she had lowered him.
Too still.
Too ordinary.
As though he had simply fallen asleep after a long day, not given himself up to hold together something that should never have needed holding.
Rue Yim did not move.
Her hands were still gripping his robes.
Tight.
White-knuckled.
As if letting go would confirm something she was not ready to accept.
"Rue Yim."
Ye Jing-e's voice came from somewhere behind her.
Steady.
Careful.
She didn't answer.
"We need to move," he said.
"No."
The word came out flat.
Immediate.
Final.
"This place isn't stable yet."
"It is."
She didn't look up.
Didn't loosen her grip.
"It stabilized," she said.
"At a cost," Ye Jing-e replied.
Her hands tightened further.
"Then it's done."
Silence.
