You know what they say that too much of everything is not good...yeah that's what happened today.
The bond did not fracture with a scream or some dramatic flare of silver light that would have at least given us the dignity of spectacle; it broke quietly, almost respectfully, like it did not wish to embarrass us while dismantling our composure, and somehow that made it far more terrifying because silence leaves room for interpretation and interpretation is where insecurity sharpens its knives. We were in the training chamber again, sweat clinging to our skin, the stone floor marked with chalk sigils and scuff lines from days of relentless practice, Ethan's guidebook resting open on the central table as though it were supervising us from beyond the grave, its margins crowded with warnings about emotional bleed and resonance collapse that we had read, nodded at, and clearly underestimated.
