The world looked different through immortal eyes.
Alyssa noticed it first as they climbed out of the Forgotten Sanctuary—the way sunlight caught on dust motes in the air, each particle suspended in time like a tiny universe. The way the wind carried scents she'd never noticed before: pine resin and distant rain, earth warming under morning light, the metallic tang of her own blood still drying on her skin.
Everything was sharper. Clearer. More present.
Or maybe she was just paying attention now in ways she never had before, knowing she would have eternity to see these small moments repeat themselves over and over again.
"You okay?" Noctis asked softly, their hand finding hers as they navigated the crumbling stone steps that led up from the throne room.
Alyssa looked at them—at the stars still visible in their eyes even in daylight, at the way darkness clung to them like a second skin—and felt the bond between them pulse with warmth.
"I don't know," she said honestly. "Are you?"
Noctis smiled, but it didn't quite reach those star-filled eyes. "I don't know either."
Behind them, Caleb helped Lani over a particularly steep section of rubble while Isabella brought up the rear, her shadows flickering protectively around the group. They moved slowly, carefully, exhaustion weighing on all of them despite the victory they'd won.
Or maybe because of it.
Victory had a cost. It always did.
They emerged from the ruins into late afternoon sunlight that felt like a blessing after so much darkness. The sky was clearing—the unnatural shadows that had plagued them for days finally retreating, the stars that had flickered out now burning bright again even in daylight.
The Entity's influence was fading.
For now.
"How far to Camp Halfblood?" Lani asked, her small voice tired but determined.
"Two days if we push," Isabella said. "Three if we rest properly."
"We rest," Alyssa said immediately. "We've earned it."
But even as she said it, she felt the restlessness building in her chest. The need to move, to keep going, to not stop until they were somewhere safe. Somewhere familiar.
Somewhere that felt like home.
They made camp that night in a clearing that reminded Alyssa of the ravine where they'd rested before—before Noctis had been taken, before everything had changed. But this time there was no desperate fear, no sense of being hunted.
Just exhaustion.
And the strange, unsettling awareness that they had all the time in the world now.
Caleb built a fire with practiced ease while Isabella unpacked what little food they had left. Lani sat close to the flames, her sea-glass eyes reflecting the dancing light, looking younger than her eight years.
Alyssa watched them—these three who had followed her and Noctis into darkness without hesitation—and felt something fierce and protective bloom in her chest.
They were mortal.
They would age.
They would die.
And she and Noctis would remain, eternal and unchanging, watching everyone they loved slip away into time.
The thought made her throat tight.
"Hey," Noctis said softly, settling beside her. "Where'd you go?"
"Just thinking," Alyssa said. "About what comes next."
