The golden and violet light bathed Lucy's skin, warm and gentle, like sunlight kissing him for the first time in a month.
He closed his eyes and breathed in deep.
The air was alive, carrying the scent of wet earth and wild grass. Even the sound of the wind stirred something in him. Llarm's laugh rang out behind him, bright and sudden. Footsteps crunched stone. The world felt loud. Real. Overwhelming, almost.
Lucy opened his eyes and turned to the others.
Their faces said it all—tired, drawn, but lit with quiet relief. Joy and exhaustion tangled in equal measure. No one had truly slept in the Dark Zone, not deeply, not safely. Now, outside of it, every breath tasted like freedom.
But the shadows hadn't disappeared.
Behind them, the Dark Zone still loomed like a living wall—massive, endless, and waiting. Just looking at it sent a cold shiver down Lucy's back.
"Let's move a little further up," he said, his voice startling him. "We'll make camp there."
