Chapter 223

*Elora*

The world didn’t end the day the Gate split. But it didn’t go back to how it was, either.

It shifted.

And so did we.

I stood beneath the remnants of the once-majestic observatory tower, now fractured from crown to base, its frame swallowed by stubborn vines and heat-weathered stone. Time had chipped away at what fire left behind—but it hadn’t taken everything. From the ash, new roots had g