The evening breeze slipped quietly through the eastern balcony of Mehra Estate. The garden lights were dim, casting only faint reflections across the cold marble floor. The once-glittering celebration had vanished. Darkness and silence now took over, as if the entire event had been no more than a fleeting dream, erased by time. Not a single sound of human activity remained.
Time had moved forward here, unlike in the Vasukih Forest, where it flowed with a different rhythm. An hour spent in that realm felt like many hours lost in this one. Even the briefest visit meant returning to a world that had already moved on.
Zeyn stood in the exact same spot as before, right at the edge of the balcony where his sister had brought him. The sky above looked unchanged, still heavy with gray clouds. His breaths came out uneven, his face darkened by a quiet fury that hadn't yet faded. His right hand clenched tightly, aching to strike something, anything, or anyone.
