Chapter 177: The Ominous Separation

Caitlin moved through the cabin, her hands laden with papers, feeling the weight of years of work in her grasp. She hesitated by the fireplace, her eyes scanning the reams of research, the countless notebooks filled with data, folklore, and the scientific studies she had painstakingly compiled. They weren’t just papers to her; they were pieces of her, pieces of her journey. For a long moment, she considered turning away, but the gravity of Raven’s warning pulled her back. Taking a deep breath, Caitlin tossed the pages into the hearth, their significance slipping from her fingers like sand. She struck a match and watched the flames devour years of her life’s work. A wave of emotion surged through her, an overwhelming grief that rose from somewhere deep inside her chest. Her throat constricted, and she blinked rapidly to hold back the tears threatening to spill. It wasn’t just the loss of the research that stung—it was the absence of Zendedari from her mind, the abrupt, jarring severanc