They left the Guardian Training Hall in silence.
Nobody spoke as they crossed back through the settlement, each of them carrying their own version of what they had just learned. Robert looked back towards the monument more than once as they walked, its cracked surface and moss-covered stone unchanged from when they had first found it, though everything he understood about it had shifted completely since then.
Nothing here had the quality of a place abandoned by choice. Every building, every scattered tool, every untouched item in the residences they had searched carried the same silent testimony — people had simply stopped being here, mid-task, mid-duty, without warning enough to gather anything or prepare for what was coming.
Sai broke the silence as they crossed the plaza, his voice quiet but certain. "We answered one thing, at least. The Keepers did not fail because they were not strong enough."
