Morning returned to Hell's Paradise Island with such gentle beauty that one might have mistaken the previous night for nothing more than an unpleasant dream.
Sunlight descended across the mountains in broad amber veils, touching the highest peaks first before flowing into the valleys, forests and winding roads below. Mist still lingered over Hell's Paradise Lake, pale and weightless beneath the newborn light, while the distant city slowly reclaimed its usual glitter as windows brightened and traffic began threading between towers once more.
Birds had already resumed their noisy little disputes among the trees as they sung arrestingly for the arrival of a new day after the Void... the winds carried the clean scent of wet leaves and cold stone as if untouched by absolute darkness, and millions of ordinary people opened their eyes to another morning without the slightest understanding of what had passed above them while they slept.
