Dark clouds filled the sky, the sun imprisoned behind them.

The low growl of thunder shook the wooden buildings, as the sharp light from the thunder illuminated the town in almost rhythmic intervals.

Two days had passed since Gabriel had collapsed.

His room remained untouched by the storm outside.

The wind rattled against the building, rain hammered the roof, but nothing breached the silence around him.

The air was heavy and unmoving, almost afraid to disturb him from his state.

He lay where he had fallen, body half-turned on the narrow bed.

He was reliving the visions from the book, trapped in them, dreaming them, looping through them without rest.

War. Burning villages. Eight silhouettes standing beneath a blinding holy light.

And the man on the throne, motionless, watching him.

Knock… Knock… Knock.

The vision cracked.

The knocking struck again, shattering it further, splintering the loop that held him.

He began regaining his senses, stretching out his fingers, then tightening them.

A whisper pierced the door.

"Gabriel…"

His eyes began to stir.

Another breath pushed into his lungs, this one a forced deep breath. His body was finally returning to the waking world.

The voice came through again, firmer this time.

"It's been two days, wake up now or I'm dumping water on you"

The words muffled through the wooden door carried more worry than threat, but hidden behind the mask of her usual impatience.

Gabriel's fingers twitched against the blanket.

A low groan escaped his throat.

His senses were being dragged back from the place they had been for the last two days.

The hinges on the door creaked as it swung open.

"Gabriel!"

His eyelids finally peeled open slowly.

A sliver of red peeked through.

"Finally." Mera placed her hands on her hips, "You've been asleep for two days. I thought you were dead."

Gabriel began sitting up, placing his hand on his temple.

His head felt like he'd drank all night at the guild with Hanitz.

"Water…" The words getting caught on a dry lump in his throat.

He forced a cough, hoping to clear it.

"Water."

"I'm not your slave, get out of bed and get some yourself," Mera's voice snapped through the room.

Gabriel blinked slowly.

His vision was still hazy.

He spun his legs around to the side of the bed, sitting on its edge. The frame tilted a little as he shifted his body.

Mera let out a sharp exhale and left the room, the door slamming shut behind her.

Gabriel's hands rested loosely on his thighs, trembling slightly.

He stared at the backs of them, looking for the ember lines that had appeared on his skin.

They were gone.

Did I imagine it?

He leaned down and reached for the book lying on the floor, opening it to the first page. It was empty.

As though nothing had ever been written in it at all.

A confused look crept across his face as he walked toward his swords, book in hand.He drew one blade just enough to expose the edge, running his thumb along it, quickly and cleanly opening a small cut.

He pressed the bloodied thumb against the cover of the book, not knowing what he expected from it.

No voices. No visions. Nothing

The leather remained still beneath his touch, reacting to nothing. The blood slid down the edge of the cover, a thin streak, trailing across the pattern etched carefully with a blade before dripping onto the floorboards.

Gabriel waited.

Placed his bloody thumb down again, still nothing.

He frowned, the smallest tightening at the corner of his eyes.

The last time he had touched the book, the world had fractured around him, sucking him into an endless loop. He could still feel them buried deep in his chest.

He wiped his thumb against his trousers, opening the book again, quicker this time. Hoping to catch the formed words.

Blank.

The page stared back at him, untouched, unmarked, as though mocking the memory still burning behind his ribs.

What is this fucking book?

He threw it onto the bed. Jaw tightening.

The impact was dull, landing spine first before rolling onto its cover.

Gabriel's breath steadied, but the tension in his shoulders didn't ease.His gaze stayed fixed on the unmoving thing, as if half-expecting it to flicker to life the moment he looked away.

The book was empty. The power it showed before had long disappeared.

Gabriel exhaled through his nose, slow and controlled. His legs felt stiff, colder than they should, as though his body hadn't fully caught up to being awake.

He tore his eyes from the bed.

He stepped forward, reaching for the door handle, glancing his head over his shoulder at the book one final time.

He stepped forward, reaching for the door handle, glancing his head over his shoulder at the book one final time.

Then pulled the door open.

The moment he stepped onto the landing, a warm scent drifted into him, cooked meat, herbs, and something simmering gently over a fire.

It rolled up the stairs in a soft wave, settling against the cold air and cutting through the remnants of the storm outside. His stomach tightened on instinct, reminding him just how long it had been since he'd eaten.

Gabriel paused at the top of the stairs, letting the scent pull him fully back into the waking world before he began his descent.

Each step creaked beneath his weight, the warmth from below grew, carrying the smell of roasted rabbit. By the time he reached the bottom, the chill from his room had completely lifted.

"There's a plate on the table for you," Mera said without turning.

He walked over to the chair, eyes drifting to the steam rising from the food.

"Thank you." A low voice rasped from his mouth.

Across the room, she stood at her alchemy station, back turned, grinding something into a fine powder. The light from the hearth cast her shadow long across the floorboards.

She turned.

Her eyes narrowed, not in anger, but in a sharp, assessing focus as she took him in from head to toe. Her gaze lingered on his face… then rose to his hair.

Gabriel frowned slightly

."What?"

Mera stood up, walking closer to him. Wiping her hands on a cloth without breaking eye contact.

"Your hair," she said quietly.

Gabriel blinked, unsure what she meant.

"It's changed."

Her voice lowered further.

"The black… it's growing."

He reached up, fingertips brushing through the strands that once split evenly down the centre, half silver, half black.

But now the black had spread, creeping further across the divide like ink bleeding into water.

He lowered his hand slowly.

Mera's expression tightened, something unreadable flickering behind her eyes.

"What happened to you while you were unconscious?"

Before he could answer.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

The sound struck the door hard, echoing through the apothecary.

Mera's head snapped to the entrance, her jaw clenching.

"That woman's been here four times already."

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