—Frey Starlight's POV—
Silence.
For the first few seconds after our return, that was all there was.
Thousands of Writers had appeared across the Land of the Writers at once, scattered throughout the enormous platforms and roads surrounding the Council, yet not a single voice rose among them. Everyone simply stood there, staring at one another as they tried to understand what had happened.
Then the truth began to spread.
"The First Writer..."
Someone spoke those words from somewhere behind me, his voice trembling badly enough that I almost failed to understand him.
"The First Writer lost."
Those four words were enough.
The silence shattered.
Voices erupted from every direction as disbelief quickly turned into panic. Some Writers immediately rejected what they had heard, while others desperately tried to sense Mother's presence, hoping that this was merely some strange part of her plan.
They found nothing.
Mother was gone.
And the Pale Devastation was still out there.
