The shadows dispersed like ink in water. Mira's song faded, leaving only the echo of her voice against the stone walls.
Lin Tian floated beside her, his hand still on her throat. The Dampener was gone, but he could feel something deeper lingering. A residue. Like the memory of the Void, still clinging to her meridians.
"It's not finished," he said quietly, his gaze moving from her throat to her face.
Mira looked at him. Her eyes were clear now, the amber depths no longer clouded by the dark film of corruption that had dulled them before. Whatever the Dampener had placed over her, the song had burned it away. But Lin Tian's hand had not moved, and his expression had not eased.
"What do you mean?" she asked. "I sang. It worked. The shadows are gone."
"The Void left traces," Lin Tian said. "Deep in your throat channels. If we don't clean them out, they'll grow back."
Su Lan swam closer, her Emberheart Sage Physique casting a warm glow through the dark water.
