[Editing]
The shattered fragments of the Ouroboros's realm still clung to the edges of Verena's vision as she stumbled forward, her boots striking the cool, polished obsidian beneath her. For a moment, everything around her remained silent—eerily so—until the echo of her own footsteps reminded her that she was, in fact, back. Back in the Labyrinth. Back in the Trial. Back in the maddening, relentless world that refused to pause, even when she wanted to curl up and dissolve into the floor.
Her fingers twitched, the lingering sensation of stillness clinging to her bones like phantom chains. She exhaled sharply, shaking the last remnants of that looping, suffocating illusion from her head.
Saphira coiled around her shoulders, eyes narrowed, tongue flickering. "You alright? Or are you about to pass out dramatically again?"
"Shut up," Verena muttered under her breath, though her lips curled faintly with relief. "I broke the damn loop, didn't I?"
