The ocean lay quiet.
Not silent—never silent—but peaceful, breathing with the pulse of tides now freed from the Bloom Matron's grip. Tir Kalthis shimmered below like a reef reborn, its spirals no longer twisted by desperation, but open to change.
Above the waves, the Circle stood on the Saltmere cliffs.
Together.
Whole.
And watching the stars fall.
Each streak of light in the sky was slow, deliberate.
Not burning rocks.
Not omens.
Seeds.
Starborne fragments, wrapped in flame and melody, descending from constellations that no longer matched any known chart.
Laeron spoke first. "They're not dying stars."
Eryndis nodded, listening to the wind. "They're arrivals."
Kaelen frowned. "From where?"
Thalindra stepped forward, her pendant glowing.
"Not from where," she whispered. "From when."
In the distance, just beyond the horizon, the air shimmered.
A distant bloom of light erupted silently—pale gold, like a tree blooming backward into the sky. And from its root… something echoed.
A note none of them recognized.
Unfamiliar.
Not from the Verdant Soul.
Not from the Choir.
Not from the Deepwild.
A Song they had never heard before.
Rowan muttered, "That's not one of ours."
Elaen turned to Thalindra. "The Circle is whole. But the world just opened a new verse."
Thalindra nodded slowly.
The Verdant Soul had been healed.
But the melody of the world was expanding.
She turned to her Circle, wind in her hair, the scent of sea and earth mixing on the breeze.
"There's more beyond this."
Her voice was clear. Certain.
"Let's go hear it."