Chapter 77: Shadows of the Past

Damien's consciousness flashed like a frail light caught in a storm someplace deep within the large, icy gap between worlds, while the cosmos shivered, murmuring warnings in faint tremors. However, existence on the planet continued unaffected, flowing to its rhythms with a practically contemptuous indifference for the invisible, churning forces that lay just beyond the confines of actuality.

It's been three grueling weeks since Damien's sacrifice. Since then, Avery Sterling's nights have been consumed with an unwavering desire to recognize, recognize, and, if she is fortunate enough, carry him lower back. She sat cross-legged on the floor of her dorm room, surrounded by a little fort of historical records manuscripts, tattered notebooks, difficult quantum physics equations, and scattered pages of cryptic phrasing. Her computer buzzed beside her, sending an unsettling, chilly blue light across the room, highlighting the tiredness on her face.