Silence doesn't last.
Not because it breaks — but because it listens too long.
✦
I woke to the sound of nothing changing.The same wind brushed through the same grass, the same pale dawn creeping across the same sky.And yet… something underneath it had shifted.
Like a heartbeat missing its rhythm.
✦
[ System Notice: Narrative Stability — 100% (Anomalous) ][ Note: Stability exceeding baseline indicates false equilibrium. ]
I stared at the notice until the letters flickered, uncertain whether they should still exist.
"False equilibrium," I repeated. "That's just a poetic way to say 'too quiet.'"
Arjun's ember drifted near my shoulder, glowing dimly. I warned you peace doesn't do well in this universe.
"Yeah. I just didn't think it'd start misbehaving this soon."
✦
