Peyton and Akshar approached the spot where the ground had swallowed the illusion of George. Akshar knelt, pressing his hand to the earth and scratching at it, but it wasn't sand or mud. The ground beneath was solid stone.
"No cracks…" Akshar muttered, puzzled.
Peyton couldn't make sense of what had just happened either. Everything about the situation was too strange, too unsettling. A weight settled heavily in his chest. "He's…gone? Just like that?" he asked, looking to Akshar.
Akshar shook his head, as lost as Peyton but with even less ability to understand it. "It feels like he's alive… but somehow, he's not." His voice was a mix of confusion and disbelief.
Peyton couldn't shake the same feeling. It was impossible to believe that George was gone, yet nothing added up.
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