You want to know what happened here?
You look around, at stone and ash,

and you wonder where the people went.
You think it’s safe, because it's quiet.

But quiet is not the same as empty.

You’ll notice it soon, if you haven't already.
How your footsteps die before they reach the wall.
How your voice won’t carry across the square.
Even your thoughts begin to slow, like they’re being…

absorbed.

I stayed longer than the others.
Long enough to hear the wind stop moving.
Long enough to feel the weight in the silence.

I spoke aloud, it answered back!

Not an echo.
An imitation.
It used my voice.
But it wasn’t me.

Not anymore.